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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVJ/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


i 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibllographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checiced  below. 


EZf 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


rn\   Covers  damaged/ 
L£J    C 


D 
D 


D 


Couverture  endommag^e 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  giographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  blacic)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  Illustrations/ 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reiiure  serrde  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  inttrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restaiiration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais.  lorsqus  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  psges  n'ont 
pas  AtA  filmies. 

Additioncil  comments:/ 
Commenvaires  supplAmentaires; 


L'Instltut  a  microfilm*  le  meiileur  exemplaire 
qu'il  iul  a  6tA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  Image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mAthode  normale  de  fllmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


r~n   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  peilicuides 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachet^es  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  in6gale  da  i'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  matiriei  suppiimentaire 

Only  edition  avaiiabie/ 
Seule  Adition  disponible 


|~~1  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~7^  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I     I  Pages  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

r~l  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I  Only  edition  avaiiabie/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totaiement  ou  oartieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  M  filmAes  A  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


Tl 
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Tl 

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This  item  is  filmed  At  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  aj  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


y 


12X 


16X 


20X 


MX 


28X 


32X 


■  I 


tails 
du 

sdifier 
une 
Tiage 


The  copy  filmad  hara  haa  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganaroAity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  the  front  covar  and  ending  on 
tha  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  covar  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  ara  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recordod  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  fllmA  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnArosltA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Las  images  suivantas  ont  4tA  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattetA  de  I'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exempiaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmis  en  commen^ent 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  Ua 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  axemplaiies 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symboie  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsq>«e  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauohr   de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  has.  en  pre-      t  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Loa  dr  grammes  suivants 
iliustrent  la  mdthode. 


Tata 
o 


>alure. 

Id 


1 

2 

3 

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32X 


tk     r. 


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/A"-  , 

tt  >f  0.1, 


Vol.  IV,  pp.  117-162,  PLs.  is-20 


THE 


May  15,  isqp 


NATIONAL   GEOGRAPHIC    MAGAZINE 


AN  i<:xi'i:i)iTi()N  THijoiTar  Tin-:  vikox  distiiict. 

I'.V  ClIAin.KS  WIIJ.AIM)  IIAYKS. 

i^l'r(.«iil('(l  liijdiu  the  Siirlih/  /uhrcuri/  ■'>.  I<S'!f.'.) 


CONTEXTS. 

Introiliictiiin lis 

Narrative  oCtin'  l"xiiiililii)n 120 

Tiiiiuirrapliy 127 

("artnyraiiliic  {'ata 127 

()ro<.'rai>liic  l'"('atiin'.-i 12S 

I )i-aiua,ii't' l''l 

Vct^i'tatioii !•>*> 

Ilanl  (icnliiL'y 1"'" 

Ciiaractor  "f  tlic  ( tliscivatiniis K>7 

Kocks  ..(■  Takii  Valh'v l:!'^ 

Uocks  of  till'  iiitcriiir  I'latvau l^W 

Rocks  uC.S'oiai  Pass HC 

l{nfks  (if  Copiicr  Itivi'i-  Vailoy 1-11 

IJ.ii'ks  of  riinrc  William  .Siuiid.   .  .      142 

.Mineral  Ifesimnrs I-*- 

(I..1.1 1-t- 

( 'nj i| ter l"*-' 

\'ul('iiiiic  I'lieiioiiieiia '"*■' 

.\etive  VdleaiUH's I"*'' 

Recent    volcanic  .\clivily    1^^" 

Tertiary  volcanic  Activity !•'" 

<  ilacial  I'licnoiiiena '"''' 

Kxistinir'ila.'iers ^^^] 

I'ornier  (ilaciation '''■' 

Appeiwlix  -Crypiouanis  collected  liy  IMC.  W'ill.ir.l  Have-  in  .\laska, 

l.sin  ;  by  Clara  !'..  (  uniniini.'s    !•'" 

17  -N*i.  lir.ii;,  M\.;..  \oi    l\  .  l.s'iJ.  <'I"J 


^ 


BL-— .**>«» 


HMI7 


118     C.  W.  llaycs — lupcdUion  throvrjh  tlia  I'ulon  DiMrirt. 


iNTROOrcTION. 

An  ex|)o<lititm  in  tlie  interest  of  a  syndicate  ol'  newspajx'Vs  was 
orji;anizo(l  in  the  spring' of  1891  liy  Mr  Frederick  Sclnvatka  lur 
explorinj:  {tortions  of  the  Yukon  htisin  in  tlie  Hritisli  Xortinvcst 
Territory  and  Alaska,  particularly  the  region  lyinjr  north  of  tiic 
St  Elias  mountains.  A  retpiest  was  made  to  the  director  of  the 
United  States  t)eol();iieal  survey  for  a  }j;eolojj;ist  to  accompany 
the  expedition,  and  it  was  the  good  fortune  of  tlie  writer  to  lie 
detaik'd  for  that  duty. 

Under  the  condition.s  of  travel  only  a  hasty  reconnaissance  ol' 
the  region  traversed  was  ]>ossil)le,  l)ut  so  little  has  been  knnwn 
of  it  geologically  or  otlierwise  tiiat  such  observations  as  were 
made  po.ssess  a  value  out  of  proportion  to  their  completeness. 
It  is  the  object  of  this  paper  to  give  in  systematic  form  the  main 
facts  of  seientifit^  interest  observed  during  the  journey.  A  (vM 
account  of  tlic  journey  itself,  which  is  not  without  interest,  can- 
not be  given  here,  but  will  appear  elsewhere  through  its  appm- 
priate  channels.  Enough  of  the!  narrative  will  be  included.  Imw- 
evtr,  lo  indicate  tlie  route  and  means  of  travel  and  sometiiiiiji 
of  the  conditions  under  which  the  scientilic  observations  were 
made. 

Mr  Schwatka's  original  jdan  was  to  go  over  Chilkoot  pass  ami 
down  the  Lewes,  following  the  regular  miners'  route  to  the  inte- 
rior; but  on  reaching  Juneau,  at  the  rcfpiest  of  the  citi/cns, 
backed  up  by  their  substantial  assistance,  it  was  decided  togii 
in  by  way  of  Taku  river,  with  a  view  to  determining  whether  a 
trail  for  pack-animals  could  be  constructe<l  over  that  route. 

Considerable  information  of  an  indefinite  sort  was  ava.ilalile 
concerning  the  country  to  be  traversed  before  reaching  Kcwes 
river.  The  jiioneers  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  compam- 
crossed  the  up])er  i)ortion  of  the  Taku  basin  in  |>assing  from  the 
Htikine  to  the  Lewes,  but  the  map  which  resulted  from  tlieir 
cx])lorations  is  only  a  very  crude  approximation  to  the  \'<\>n- 
graphic  facts,  and  must  have  been  drawn  largely  from  nicnmry. 

I)r  Dawson  obtained  from  a  prospector  named  Hoswell  scmie 
information  concerning  Teslin  river  ami  lake  .\hkleii  wbicli  lie 
embodied  in  the  map  accompanying  his  report  on  the  Viikcm 
district.  The  location  and  form  of  th<'  lake  proved  to  he  re- 
markably accurate,  though  the  regularity  of  the  to|)ogra|'liic 


\ 


\ 


'Hie  lioiile  mid  the  Surrri/s. 


10 


li'iittires  of  the  re;j;ion  is  such  that  ii  clear  idea  of  their  relations 
is  easily  ohtained  even  without  instruments. 

The  whole  of  the  route  from  Taku  inlet  to  tlie  TiOwes  was 
traversed  in  the  si)ring  and  sunnner  of  18l)()hy  a  party  of  eijiht 
minors,  anionjjwhom  >[arlv  llusselha  nu'mher  of  our  jtarty,  was 
a  loading  si)int.  They  started  from  Juneau  hefore  the  ice  was 
out  of  the  river,  hauling  their  outlit  on  hand-sleds  so  long  as  the 
snow  lasted,  and  then  packing  them.  Jt  re(|uired  eighty  days  to 
reach  the  lake,  where  the  party  built  a  numher  of  hoats.  After 
prospecting  the  Xisutlin  and  other  streams  on  the  eastern  side 
of  Ahklen  valley  they  went  down  the  Teslin  and  hack  to  the 
coast  1»y  licwes  river  and  Chilkoot  pass.  Tiiis  is  an  example  of 
the  many  unhcralde<l  expeditions  which  tlu!  .Maskan  prospectors 
have  carried  out,  facing  dangers  and  privations  which  appear  in- 
credible to  one  who  is  not  familiar  with  tlu^  men  themselves,  r^ess 
arduous  or  novel  expeditions  have  lirought  fame  to  explorers 
better  versed  in  the  art  oF  advertising  than  these  unassuming 
miners,  rnfortunately,  however,  geography  is  but  slightly  the 
gainer  from  the  work  of  the  ])ros[»ector,  since  he  usually  has 
neither  the  training  nor  the  inclination  to  use  instruments  even 
if  he  should  be  supjdied  with  them,  which  is  rarely  the  case,  and 
ordinarily  the  nui])  which  he  draws  from  UKMuory,  unassisted  by 
notes  of  any. sort,  is  not  a  model  of  accuracy. 

At  the  head  of  Taku  inlet  a  "track  survey"'  was  begun  and 
carried  continuously  to  tlu'  mouth  of  Tcslin  river,  \vhere  it 
connected  with  the  line  surveyed  by  Mr  Ogilvie  in  lSS(i.  The 
instruments  used  were  a  i)rismatic  comiiass  for  determining 
direction,  and  a  sextant  for  latitude.  Distance  was  obtained 
during  the  boat  journey  on  the  Taku,  lake  Ahklen,  and  Teslin 
river  V)}'  time  and  eye  estimates,  and  on  the  portage  between 
Taku  river  and  the  lake  by  pacinu;.  Altitudes  were  determined 
from  the  mean  of  four  aneroids  with  synchronous  readings  of  a 
base  barometer  at  Juneau,  for  whicii  wi'  arc  indebted  to  the 
kindness  of  Mr  E.  8.  Wiliard.  The  routi'  was  ])lotted  in  the 
notebook  and  relief  inilicated  by  sketch  contours;  all  prominent 
points  within  sight  along  the  line  of  travel  iieiug  approximately 
located  by  compass  l)earings.  WTiile  sucii  a  survey  does  not, 
of  course,  possess  the  prei-isiou  of  an  instrumentally  measured 
line,  still,  wIhmi  carel'ully  cxccuteil,  it  reprc-cnts  the  character 
and  relations  of  the  topographic  features  of  a  country  with  a 
fair  (U'gree  of  accuracv. 


120     C.W.lIdijcs — lujmlitioii  titroiirjit  the  Vahun  I)i,^lricl. 


1 


Bt'tweon  Yukiiii  river  and  tlic  St  Kliii8  mountains  lies  a 
lar^c  art-a.  cnibracinu  the  whole  of  Wiiiti'  river  and  its  triliu- 
taries,  as  well  as  the  headwaters  of  the  Copjier  and  Tananah, 
whicli  has  l)een  jieoi^raphieally  a  hlank.  So  far  as  can  he 
learned  it  Inul  never  heon  penetrated  hy  a  white  man,  and  the 
lakes,  rivers  and  mountains  which  appear  on  many  majjs  are 
l)roduets  of  the  ffcojiraidier's  imaij;i nation.  Across  this  un- 
known rejrion  a  track  survey  was  made  similar  to  the  one 
already  deserihed.  Kxccptinir  about  fifty  miles  travi'rsed  liy 
water,  the  whole  distance  of  .')■')(•  mill's  from  Selkirk  on  the 
Yukon  to  the  junction  of  t'hittenah  and  Niz/enah  rivers  was 
carefully  paced;  and  the  two  ends  of  the  line  heinj:  located  iiy 
astronomic  observations,  the  former  by  0<;ilvie  and  tlu;  latter  by 
Allen,  the  location  of  intermediate  points  cannot  be  far  out  of 
the  way. 

The  portion  of  our  route  between  the  mouth  of  the  Teslin  ami 
Selkirk,  at  the  junction  of  the  r>ewes  and  I'elly,  had  already 
been  twice  surveyed,  first  by  ('.  A.  Ifoman,  the  topoirrapher  of 
Schwatka's  i)arty  in  l.SS;>,  and  more  accurately  i>y  O^ilvie  in 
1887.  Chittenah  and  ('(ipjjer  rivers  had  been  surveyed  by  Allen 
in  1885,80  that  no  continuous  survey  of  these  rivers  was  under- 
taken thoujih  numerous  oltservations  were  made  to  supplement 
those  embodied  in  Allen's  map. 

NaKH.XTIVK    <iK    TUK    IvXPKniTlON. 

Our  party  consisted  at  the  start  of  three  white  men — Mr. 
Schwatka,  the  prospector  Mark  iUissell,  and  the  writer — with 
seven  Indians  euLra^red  as  boatmen  and  packers  for  the  lirst  staire 
of  the  journey.  Alter  a  few  days  spent  in  completing  the  outlit 
and  waiting  for  the  river  to  become  free  of  ice,  wi-  left  Juneau 
May  -ir).  IS'll. 

The  large  two-ton  dugout  canoe  in  whicli  we  emliarkcd  was 
well  adapted  for  navigating  the  <leei»  waters  of  the  inlet,  but  we 
found  it  poorly  suited  to  the  swift  and  shallow  river.  When  the 
wind  l)lew  up  stream  rajiid  progress  was  made  in  spile  of  the 
current  by  spreading  two  large  sails  wing  and  wing,  but  when 
the  wind  failed  our  progress,  by  poling  or  tracking  whenever  the 
banks  perndtted,  was  painfully  slow.  Seven  days  were  spent 
in  reaching  the  head  of  canoe  navigation,  eight  miles  above  the 
South  fork  and  about  eighty  from  Juneau.  During  this  part 
of  the  journey  little  opportunity  was  allorde'l  for  studying  the 


Modes  <ij'  Tnii'il  (did  Trdiixjun-tdlidii. 


rji 


ffoolo^y  of  (lie  n^jjion  tmvcrscMl.  since  tlic  lioiitincn  ^'ciK'nilly  l<<'iit, 
to  tlic  iiiidiUc  ttftliL'  viilley  ;ui(l  we  usually  luadu  ciuup  ut  nij^lit 
on  one  o("  the  small  islands  which  se[>urate  the  river  into  many 
channels. 

While  Taku  river  is  i'ar  from  liein;i-  an  ideal  hitihway  to  the 
interior,  still  a  ilat-liottonied  steamer  of  li;ilit  draft  and  jiood 
power  would  jirohahly  have  no  serious  dilliculty  in  rea('hin<r  the 
nunith  of  the  South  fork,  h^ss  than  a  hundred  miles  from  a 
))oint  on  lake  Ahkten  which  could  lie  reached  hy  steamer  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Yukon.  'I'he  country  interveniuji'  Itetween  these 
points  is  praetieahle  for  pack-animals  with  the  expenditure  of 
comi)aratively  little  lahor  in  constructinii'  a  trail,  it  is  prohahly 
t)nly  a  ([uestion  of  time  when  some  hetter  way  of  reaching'  the 
u[)per  Yukon  hasin  tliiin  Chilkoot  pass  will  he  demanded,  and 
the  Taku  route  is,  so  far  as  yet  kn(jwn,  the  least  olijectionid)le. 

At  the  head  of  canoe  navij^ation  our  outfit  was  made  U[)  into 
twelve  packs  of  ahout  one  liundred  pounds  cacli  for  the  )»orta<i:e 
of  ei;;hty-tive  miles  to  the  head  of  lake  ,\hklcn.  As  there  were 
but  si.K  i>aekers,  each  was  oliliucd  to  make  two  trijw  ;  so  that  our 
projiress  was  extrunely  slow.  The  first  twenty  miles  of  the 
portajj;c  are  in  the  narrow  caiiyondike  valley  of  an  eastern  1)ranch 
of  the  river,  and  the  next  lifty  in  broad  valleys  of  the  upper  Taku 
basin,  from  ;>,.')()()  to  o.OOII  feet  al)ove  sea  level.  The  last  fifteen 
miles  are  in  the  densely  wooded  Ahklen  valley  among  innumer- 
able small  lakes  and  ponds.  \\'e  reached  lake  Ahklen  June  1(). 
and  from  this  [)oinG  the  Indians  were  sent  back  to  the  coast.  It 
was  with  a  feelinu;  of  great  relii'f  that  we  watched  them  disapjjcar 
on  their  homeward  journey  and  knew  that  we  were  no  longtjr 
dependent  on  their  caprice. 

Setting  U[)  the  two  portalde  canvas  canoes  which  had  l)een 
packed  in  from  the  coast,  we  continued  our  journey  toAvard  the 
northwest,  down  lake  .\hklen  and  Teslin  river,  which  forms  its 
outlet.  The  Lewes  was  reached  June  '2\  and  Selkirk,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Lewes  and  IVlly,  four  days  later.  The  original 
plan  had  l»een  to  continue  down  the  Yukon  to  the  mouth  of 
White  river  and  u\)  that  stream  so  far  as  possible  by  boat,  but 
the  Indians  whom  we  I'owul  at  Selkirk  told  us  the  earlier  route 
to  the  head  of  White  river  was  overland,  keeping  southeast  of 
the  main  rivi'r  valley;  and  this  route  we  decided  to  follow. 

.\  store  has  recently  been  estaldished  on  the  site  of  old  fort 
Selkirk,  the  Hudson  IJay  company's  post,  which  was  burned  by 


122     ('.]\'.  Hayes — Krj)cdil ion  through  flic  VkLoii  l>i.di'id. 


the  const  Iiidiiins  in  1S|S.  TIic  tnvtlcr,  Mr  lIurixT,  was  down 
tlu!  river  and  we  tounil  only  a  couple  of  Indians  whom  lu*  had 
left  in  char;je.  These  were  dis])at(;hed  up  the  I'elly  to  collect 
the  nrtives  in  the  vicinity  and  we  soon  had  altout  forty  of  them 
camped  around  lis.  Only  a  I'vw  of  them,  however,  were  ahle- 
hodied  men,  and  it  was  extremi-ly  dillicult  t(»  persuade  these  to 
jjo  with  us;  and  when  they  had  promised  it  was  only  to  hack 
out  the  next  day.  After  laltorin<if  with  them  for  over  a  week  it 
seemed  that  the  atteinj>t  to  secure  the  necessary  packers  was 
hopeless,  and  we  were  prepariuf;  to  <,'o  d(twn  to  the  mouth  of 
White  river  and  try  the  ascent  hy  hoat,  when  the  tide  was  turned 
hy  the  opportune  arrival  of  a  prosp^ctui,  Frank  Howker.  Ho 
had  come  up  the  river  from  Forty-mile  cre(<k,  inteinlinji  to  spend 
the  summer  jtrospectin^  in  W  ;ule  IJiver  hasin.  With  him  were 
two  natives  from  further  down  the  river,  muscular  and  willinjj; 
fellows,  very  ditt'erent  from  the  wretched  specinu'us  from  IVlly 
river.  Howker's  arrival,  as  he  came  with  authority  from  Mr 
Harper,  who  has  j^reat  inHuence  over  the  natives,  put  new  hack- 
hone  into  our  enter|)rise.  Five  pri  'kers  were  soon  secured,  who 
])romised  to  jj;o  with  us  to  the  country  of  Seolai,  heyond  tiie 
mountains.  Dojjjs  were  ohtainetl  to  carry  the  remainder  of  the 
outfit  from  twenty-five  to  forty  ]»()Unds  heinji  i)acked  upon  eacli 
in  panniers  of  birch  hark  or  moosi'  skin. 

On  July  S)  our  comhined  party  of  four  white  men,  eitfht  In- 
dians, and  eleven  dogs  left  Selkirk.  Our  course  lay  toward 
the  southwest,  over  the  trreat  interior  ]>lateau  which  stretches 
from  the  Yukon  to  the  St  Klias  mountains.  The  headwaters 
of  Selwyn  river  were  crossed  and  .several  eastern  trihutaries 
of  White  river. 

The  country  is  very  scantily  peo[)l(,'(l,  and  although  we  prob- 
ably saw  most  of  the  natives  inhabiting  the  White  Kiver  basin 
they  only  numbere<l  alog(.'ther  between  fifty  and  sixty  persons. 
The  first  party,  consisting  of  six  families,  was  camped  (jn  the 
Nisling,  making  a  fish  trap  in  anticipation  of  arrival  of  the 
salmon,  which  was  anxiously  hxtked  for.  These  Indians  are 
closely  relateil  to  thosi-  living  on  the  I'elly.  They  are  similar 
in  appearance  and  mode  of  life,  and  apparently  si)eak  the  same 
language.  They  have  no  permanent  dwellings,  but  several  snli- 
stantial  log  caches  were  seen,  which  they  use  for  storing  their 
winter's  supply  of  dried  fish  and  moose  meat.  The  country 
seems  to  be  fairly  well  sui)plii'd  with  game,  goats  on  the  highest 


Patlt-nialhii/  in  llic  Wilderness. 


l->?> 


rocky  summits,  moose  and  hciir  in  tlic  river  valleys,  and  rein- 
deer or  liarren-^n-ounds  earihou  on  tiie  plateau  above  tinil>er 
line.  Several  of  the  latter  were  killed  Ity  memliers  of  our  party, 
and  (»ur  supply  of  i)rovisions  was  also  Iielped  dut  liy  the  dried 
meat  which  we  ol)tained  from  the  natives.  On  the  Kluantu 
wa,s  found  a  second  ])arty  of  Indians,  most  of  wlutm  ha<l  never 
before  seen  a  whiie  man.  01>tainin<i  a  number  of  rafts  from 
ihese  natives  wc  descended  the  river  about  fourteen  miles  to  its 
conHuenc(!  with  the  Donjek,  since  both  tlu'  Kluantu  and  Donjek 
wore  t(ni  iliep  and  rapid  to  ford.  The  Klutlan  Avas  also  found 
to  bo  unfordable,  and  we  were  comjiellcd  to  <fu  around  its  head 
and  cross  upon  the  j^lacier  from  which  it  Hows.  Althoujrh  this 
was  not  attended  by  any  si)ecial  danger  it  caused  great  dismay 
among  the  Indians,  who  regard  a  glacier  with  superstitious 
terror. 

About  twelve  miles  Ix'yond  Klutlan  glacier  we  reached  i  small 
stream  called  the  Klet-san-dek,  or  Copper  creek,  coming  from  a 
narrow  gorge  in-tlu^  mountains.  This  is  where  the  Yukon  In- 
flians  have  been  accustomed  to  come  f(jrsupi)lies  of  native  copper. 
It  was  as  far  as  any  of  our  packers  had  ever  been  from  home  and 
they  knew  of  the  country  beyond  only  by  rc[>ort.  They  refused 
to  go  with  us  further,  as'^uring  us  that  it  was(piite  impossil)le  to 
get  through  the  mountains  at  that  season  since  the  pass  was 
only  traveled  by  Indians  in  the  winter  on  snow-shoes.  Bowker 
had  already  come  further  than  he  originally  intended,  so  that  he 
turned  back  with  the  Indians.  It  was  something  over  two  hun- 
dred miles  back  to  Selkirk,  and  although  through  an  unknown 
country  a  considerably  shorter  distance  to  an  Indian  village  on 
the  other  side  of  the  mountains.  Trusting  in  our  ability  to  reach 
the  latter  inside  of  two  weeks,  a  period  for  which  we  had  provis- 
ions, we  decideil  to  push  forward.  Discarding  everything  not 
absolutely  essential  our  i)acks  still  amounted  to  seventy-tivc  or 
eighty  pounds  apiece,  so  that  progrc'^s  was  necessarily  slow.  The 
weather  since  leaving  the  coast  in  May  had  been  very  warm,  with 
little  rain  except  local  thunder  showers,  but  from  this  time  until 
we  again  reache<l  the  coast  rain  was  falling  most  of  the  time.  As 
we  had  no  tent,  this  added  greatly  to  our  discomfort. 

liCaving  the  Kletsan,  oiu-  party  now  reduced  to  three,  we  con- 
tinued toward  the  northwest  througli  the  densi-ly  wooded  valley, 
Avith  the  White  river  on  our  right  and  the  steep  mountain  face 
on  till'  left.     .\t  the  (Mid   of  the  third  day  we  cann;  out  upon 


124     C.W.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 


White  river,  flowing  from  the  south  in  a  deep  narrow  valley. 
This  we  concluded  niuist  he  the  pass  of  which  the  Indians  had 
told  us,  and  our  helief  Wiis  strengtiiened  hy  ineotin*!;  a  high  wind, 
amounting  almost  to  a  gale,  hlowing  through  from  the  south. 
A  couple  of  miles  hack  from  its  mouth  a  wall  of  moraine-covered 
ice  stretched  across  the  valley,  the  river  emerging  from  a  tunnel 
on  the  extreme  western  side.  This  was  undoul)tedl3'  the  ice 
which  the  Indians  said  it  would  take  us  at  least  four  days  to 
cross.  As  usual,  however,  their  statement  was  wide  of  the  truth. 
Crossing  a  couple  of  miles  of  rough  moraine-covered  glacier  with 
a  gradual  ascent  toward  the  soutli,  we  came  to  a  long  stretch  of 
firm  white  ice  upon  which  walking  was  a  positive  luxury  after 
our  days  of  floundering  in  the  deep  moss  and  alder  thickets  of 
White  River  valley.  We  continued  to  ascend  gradually  for 
ahout  ten  miles,  directing  our  course  toward  a  low  saddle  in  the 
mountains  on  the  south  which  we  supposed  to  he  the  pass. 
Toward  evening,  however,  we  were  surprised  to  find  the  surface 
of  the  glacier  descending  and  a  little  later  discovered  a  deej) 
narrow  gorge  turning  off  to  the  right  almost  at  right  angles  with 
our  former  cour.se.  We  had  crossed  the  divide,  and  iii  a  short 
time  were  off  the  ice  and  camped  on  a  stream  flowing  into  the 
Pacific.  This  was  the  Nizzenah.  a  triliutary  of  the  ("hittenah,  or 
eastern  hranch  of  Copper  river. 

The  next  four  days  we  continued  our  journey  down  the  nar- 
row canyon  which  this  stream  has  cut  through  the  mountain 
range  and  encountered  the  most  difiicult  traveling  we  had  yet 
found.  The  vegetation  on  tlie  southern  side  of  this  range  rivals 
in  luxuriance  that  of  tlie  coast.  Forcing  our  way  through  tiie 
den.se  growth  of  alder  and  spruce  which  covers  the  steej)  slopes 
at  the  hase  of  canyon  walls  was  extremely  slow  and  painful 
work.     \  mile  in  four  or  t\\v  h-'Urs  was  counted  lair  i)rogress. 

At  lengtli,  after  having  hecn  compelled  lo  ft)rd  (he  river  several 
times,  we  readied  a  point  at  which  it  aiJ[ieared  not  wholly  im- 
practicahle  for  hoating,  and  it  was  decided  to  sto|)  and  huild  a 
hoat.  Our  tools  consisted  of  a  very  dull  axe  iind  our  jxteket 
knives,  hut  will-  these  we  hewed  out  !i  ktel  and  gunwales  from 
spruce  saplings  and  fashioned  rilis  from  willow  poles,  lashing 
the  structure  together  witli  twine  ravelliMl  iVom  our  puck  ropes. 
Over  this  frame  was  stretched  Ihe  ciinvas  in  which  our  hedding 
had  heen  wrapjx'd  iukI  (iually  (he  covering  was  siiie!ire(l  liherally 
with  spruceuuiii.     In  this  <r;ir(  our  progress  was  more  rjipid  an<l 


The  ndnrn  to  the  Coast. 


125 


not  without  exciteinent.  The  rivor  has  a  fall  of  about  twenty  feet 
to  the  inile,  so  that  it  is  practically  a  continuous  rapid  froni  thi' 
})oint  where  we  enibarkeil  thirty-live  miles  down  to  its  conHu- 
ence  with  the  Chittenah.  For  hjeven  miles  above  the  contluencc 
the  river  flows  throujih  a  canyon  with  rocky  walls  from  350  to 
oOl)  feet  hif<h.  It  is  extremely  narrow  and  crooked  ;  the  water, 
which  above  the  canyon  fretiuently  spreads  out  half  a  mile  or 
more  in  breadth,  beinji  compressed  into  a  channel  in  places  oidy 
a  few  yards  across. 

We  Avere  presamal)ly  on  a  part  of  the  river  descended  by 
Lieutenant  Allen  in  l.S8()  with  a  crew  of  natives,  but  thus  far 
had  been  unable  to  make  the  country  fit  his  map  and  were  in 
doubt  until  we  reached  the  lower  end  of  the  canyon,  when  it  was 
of  less  interest  to  know  that  another  had  lieen  throu<ih  than  it 
would  have  been  befon^  we  started  in.  After  endeavoring  with 
poor  success  to  learn  somethinn;  of  the  character  of  the  canyon 
from  the  top  of  the  blurts,  we  decided  to  attempt  its  i>assa,<ii;e. 
()ur  boat  was  tossed  from  side  to  side  like  a  sliuttlecock,  whirled 
around  sharp  i)rojectin,if  points  of  rock  and  throutrh  narrow 
chutes  with  a  velocity  that  fairly  took  our  breath.  Twice 
more  the  canyon  wall  was  scaled,  but  the  river  (v^uld  be  seen 
only  a  short  distance  ahead.  Several  times  we  came  uncom- 
fortably neardisaster,  and  that  we  jiot  throu<rh  in  safety  is  larjrely 
due  to  the  coolness  and  skill  with  which  Mark  Uu.><sell  navigated 
our  craft. 

Continuinj;;  down  tlie  Chittenah  about  forty  miles  to  its  con- 
fluence with  (\)i)per  river,  we  readied  Taral,  a  few  miles  below 
the  confluence,  Aujiust  12,  just  fourteen  days  after  the  natives 
left  us  on  White  river.  We  had  come  through  exactly  on  schedule 
time,  with  three  pounds  of  flour  and  a  handful  of  tea  reinaininsr 
i>f  tbe  provisions  witii  which  we  left  Selkirk. 

M  Taral  we  found  Nicolai.  or  "  Scolai."as  tlie  Yukon  Indians 
call  him,  the  autocrat  of  the  Copper  river  country.  lie  gave  us 
a  most  hospitable  reception  and  supplied  us  with  provisions  .so 
far  as  his  limited  stores  permitted.  Salmon,  both  fresh  and 
<lried,  tvere  abundant,  so  that  we  bad  no  further  appreiiension 
•  )f  famine.  The  Copper  river  Indians  have  an  unenviabl(>  rejiu- 
tation  for  treachery  and  bostility  to  the  whites:  liut  we  saw 
nothing  to  justify  it.  They  are  greatly  su|terior  to  the  Yukon 
natives,  physically  .at  li-ast.  and  have  a  niucli  more  elaborate 
familv  and  tril)al  oriranization. 


is—Nat.  <iKiHi.  M\ 


v.. I,.  IV,  isii-J 


12(5     C.  W.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Viikou  District. 

We  were  so  fortunate  as  to  reacli  Taral  jufst  as  Nicolai  was 
preparing  for  his  annual  visit  to  the  coast,  and  after  a  delay  of 
four  days  we  embarked  in  a  large  skin  boat  manned  by  ten  of 
his  vassals.  A  couple  of  days  brought  us  down  to  Miles  glacier, 
where  the  river  tumbles  over  a  dam  of  huge  moraine  bowlders. 
It  is  necessary  to  make  a  portage  here  sometimes  across  both 
moraine  and  glacier.  Crossing  about  two  miles  of  moraine 
covered  with  a  dense  alder  thicket,  we  came  out  upon  a  high 
ridge  of  freshly  dcpositeil  bowlders.  Immediately  in  front  was 
a  broad  expansion  of  the  river  in  front  of  the  glacier,  which 
formed  an  icp  cliff  along  one  side  ncarl}'  four  hundred  feet  in 
height,  hergs  were  almost  constantly  falling,  with  reports  like 
thunder,  dashing  the  spray  high  above  the  top  of  the  cliff.  The 
current  of  the  river  sets  across  the  lake  toward  the  front  of  the 
glacier,  and  where  it  meets  the  swell  produced  by  a  falling  mass 
of  ice  the  water  is  thrown  into  enormous  breakers  which,  with 
the  grinding  icebergs,  would  swam])  a  boat  instantly.  Nicolai 
decided  that  we  might  get  past  by  waiting  for  a  lull  in  the  fall- 
ing ,)f  the  ice  and  for  a  wind  from  the  right  direction  to  open  a 
passage  through  the  floating  bergs.  The  right  moment  came 
after  a  wait  of  nearly  a  day,  and  tumbling  things  into  the  Ic .it 
we  were  soon  past  the  dangerous  si)ot,  to  the  evident  reliel  *" 
Nicolai  and  his  crew.  A  short  distance  below  we  passed  tb' 
front  of  Childs  glacier,  running  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
lofty  wall  of  ice,  aiid  found  ourselves  at  the  head  of  the  river 
delta,  with  the  blue  Pacific  in  sight  far  to  the  southward.  It 
lacked  a  few  days  of  being  three  months  since  we  liad  left  the 
coast  at  Juneau,  and  in  that  time  we  had  travelled  almost 
exactly  a  thousand  miles,  nearly  half  the  distance  being  on 
foot. 

Nicolai  intencUid  going  to  l<]yak,  where  two  salmon  canneries 
are  located  on  a  narrow  neck  of  the  peninsula  between  the 
Copper  River  delta  and  Prince  William  sound.  When  within  a 
few  miles  of  that  place  we  were  met  by  a  native  with  the  rejK)rt 
that  the  Eyak  canneries  had  closed  and  the  traders  had  left. 
This  report,  which  we  afterward  found  to  be  the  invention  of  a 
rival  trader,  turned  us  back  to  the  head  of  the  delta  and  down 
one  of  the  eastern  channels  fifty  miles  out  of  our  way  and  de- 
layed our  arrival  at  Kyak  about  four  days.  On  account  of  this 
delay  we  missed  tlu;  August  n»ail  stciimer  from  the  sound  by 
twelve  hours  and  were  obliged  to  wait  there  a  month  for  the 


^ 


Prcvioiift  Krplorntions  mid  Survc.ijs. 


327 


September  *^teainer.  Thanks  to  the  abundant  lioHpitality  of 
Captain  Humphrey,  superintendent  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Wlial- 
ing  company's  cannery,  our  detention  there  was  rendered  far 
from  unpleasant,  and  the  opportunity  was  afforded  of  examiniufi; 
this  little  known  region.  Taking  passage  September  21,  on  the 
mail  steamer  Elsir,  from  Nutchek,  we  reached  Sitka  four  days 
later,  connecting  there  with  the  steamer  Mexico  for  Puget  sound. 


Topography. 
Oirtngraphlc  Ddtii. 

The  topographic  data  embodied  in  the  accompanying  map 
sheets  (i)lates  19  and  20)  are  from  tlie  following  sources: 

On  sheet  i  the  region  from  the  head  of  Taku  inlet  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Teslin,  embracing  Taku  river,  lake  Ahklen,  and  Teslin 
river,  is  mapped  from  my  track  survey  made  in  1891,  which  I 
have  already  ])riefly  descril)ed.  The  relief  is  indi(!ated  by  sketch 
contours  with  an  a[)proximate  vertical  interval  of  250  feet. 

The  portions  of  Pelly  river  shown  on  sheets  i  and  ii  are  from 
the  track  survey  made  in  1S87  by  Dr  Dawson.  The  region  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Lewes,  shown  on  sheet  ii,  across  C'hilkootpass 
to  Pyramid ■harl)or,  at  the  head  of  I^ynn  canal,  is  from  the  in- 
strumental traverse  made  ])y  ^Ir  W.  Ogilvie  in  1SS7  and  em- 
bodied, together  with  Dawson's  track  surveys,  in  the  map  of  a 
portion  of  the  Yukon  district  which  accompanies  the  report  on 
an  expedition  to  the  Yukon  district,  Northwest  Territory,  and 
adjacent  northern  i)ortion  of  British  Columbia,  in  1887,  by  Dr 
(Jeorge  M.  Dawson.* 

The  region  end)racing  the  head  of  Lynn  canal.  Cliilkat  river, 
and  the  sources  of  Altsek  and  Tahkeena  rivers  is  from  the  Karte 
des  Tschilkat-CJebietes  mit  dem  Piissen  zum  Yukon.f  Lake 
Arkell  and  Tahkeena  river  are  from  data  furnished  tt)  the  Census 
otlice  by  Mr  K.  J.  (Jlave  from  surveys  made  l)y  him  in  1891. 
Muir  glacier  is  from  a  planeta1>l('  survey  made  by  Professor 
Harry  Fielding  Hied  in  1890,  embodied  in  the  map  iiccomi)any- 
ing  a  paper  entitled  Studies  of  Muir  gliu-icr,  Alaska. J 


*  Ann,  Ki'i).  (tool.  Survey  Cana«lii,  pt.  B,  Montreal,  IHSH. 
fNaoh  finciien  Anfniiliiiicti  iiii  .liilo'c  lSH-_»  voii  Or  Artliiir  Knuisc 
lin,  ISH.'!. 
{  Nat.  <H'(.g.  May;.,  vol.  iv,  ls!t2.  i)l.  14. 


nvr- 


128     C.  W.  Ilayc^- — Expedition  throuyh  the  Yukon  District. 


i! 


The  coast  from  Takii  inlet  to  cape  Spencer,  and  also  from  ley 
bay  to  the  western  edge  of  sheet  ii,  is  from  the  general  chart  of 
Alaska,  numl)er  900,  issued  by  the  United  States  Coast  and 
Geodetic  survey,  Wasliington,  1891.  Tlie  topography  of  the 
region  aliown  on  sheet  ii  between  Selkirk,  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Pelly  and  Ticwes  rivers,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Nizzenah  is 
from  my  tra<'k  survey,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  a  paced 
traverse. 

The  Yukon  from  Selkirk  t«)  the  edge  of  sheet  ii  is  from  the 
sketch  survey  by  Charles  A.  Homan,  published  as  sheet  5  of 
map  accompanying  the  report  of  a  military  reconnoissance 
in  Alaska,  made  in  1(S88  by  Lieutenant  Frederick- Schwatka 
(Washington,  1885). 

Chittenah  river  and  the  mount  Wrangell  region  are  from  the 
survey  made  by  Allen  in  188");  sheet  2  of  map  accompany- 
ing the  report  of  an  expedition  t(j  the  Copper,  Tanana  and  Koyu- 
kuk  rivers,  in  the  territory  of  Alaska,  in  the  year  188o  l)y  Lieu- 
tenant Henry  T.  Allen  (Washington,  1887). 

The  coast  from  ley  bay  to  Yakutat  bay,  with  the  region  to- 
ward the  north  including  mount  St  Klias,  is  from  the  surveys 
of  Kerr  in  iSUOand  Uussell  in  1891,end)odied  in  the  map  of  the 
mount  St  P^lias  region  accompanying  a  recent  paper  on  mount 
St  Elias  and  its  glaciers  l)y  Israel  C.  Russell.* 


OrtKirapliic  J'hUiire/<. 

From  the  vicinity  of  Fraz(;r  river,  in  southern  British  C!oUnui»ia, 
the  western  mainland  range  of  the  Cordilleran  mountain  system 
follows  the  coast  toward  the  northwest  as  far  as  the  head  of  Lynn 
canal.  Here  it  becomes  an  I.k,  .  ior  range,  while  to  the  westward 
its  place  next  the  coast  is  taken  by  the  St  Klias  range.  The 
southern  Alaskan  coast  mountains  form  a  broad  elevated  belt 
with  many  scattered  peaks,  of  which  none  perhaps  have  an  alti- 
tude of  more  than  8,0(10  or  !),()( 10  feet,  while  there  is  no  dominant 
c;hain.  The  southwestern  front  of  the  range  rises  abruptly  from 
the  waters  of  the  inland  passage,  tbrming  a  rugged  barrier  to  the 
interior.  \  few  rivers  have  cut  their  channels  through  the  range, 
and  it  is  penetrated  varying  distance's  l»y  numerous  deep  (lords. 
From  the  head  i>f  Lynn  canal  nortlnviistward  the  range  decreases 
in  altitude  and  i)robably  spreads  out  and  merges  in  tin;  l>roken 


*  Am.  Jour.  St-i.,  ;!i|  .moiU's,  vol.  xliii,  l.Si)2,  pi.  iv. 


Mountain  Systems  and  liavfjc 


1'2\) 


l)liiteau  which  occupien  the  eastern  part  of  \\'liite  River  busin. 
This  region  is  praetieally  unlvnown,  however,  and  the  precise 
relation  of  the  Coast  range  to  tlie  St  Elias  range  has  not  yet  l)een 
determined.  Where  the  former  range  is  cut  through  by  Taku 
river  its  northeastern  face!  like  its  northwestern  termination,  is 
not  shar|)ly  defined,  hut  the  mountain  range  merges  with  the  high 
plateau  lying  to  the  eastward  between  the  Coast  range  and  the 
Rocky  mountains. 

The  8t  Elias  range  appears  to  hv  due  to  a^ separate  and  more 
recent  ui)lift.  Its  continuation  southward  is  i)artially  submerged 
and  forms  the  islands  of  the  Alexander  an^liipelago.  Still 
further  southward,  in  Queen  Charlotte  and  Vancouver  islands, 
it  has  been  called  by  Dawson  the  Vancouver  range,  the  western- 
most member  of  the  Cordilleran  system.  liike  the  southern 
(H)ast  range,  it  is  a  broad  elevated  belt  with  numerous  peaks  and 
short  ri<lges,  jirobably  the  highest  being  along  its  southern 
border,  culminating  in  mount  8t  Elias.  Westward  from  this 
peak  the  range  is  separated  into  two  divergent  ranges  bv  the 
valley  of  Chittenah  river.  The  one  continuing  toward  the  north- 
west contains  the  high  volcanic  ])eaks  of  the  Wrangell  group. 
The  southern  "divergent  range  follows  the  coast  toward  the  west 
and,  bending  round  Prince  William  sound,  continues  toward  the 
southwest  in  the  Kenai  peninsula  and  peihai)S  Kadiak  island. 

The  eastern  limit  of  the  Coast  range  may  be  fixed  apjtroxi- 
mately  at  the  junction  of  the  northern  and  southern  forks  of  the 
Taku,  the  region  east  of  this  l)einga  high  plateau  which  extends 
to  the  Cassiar  range,  the  northern  representative  of  the  (Jold 
ranges  of  British  Columbia.  The  elevation  of  the  interior  jjlateau, 
where  it  is  crossed  in  passing  from  the  Taku  to  lake  Ahklen,  is 
about  o,()(K)  feet  above  sea  level.  From  this  i)()int  it  descends 
gradually  toward  the  northwest,  its  altitude  at  the  junction  of 
Lewes  and  Pelly  rivers  being  less  than  ;5,(}0()  feet.  Southwest  of 
Selkirk  the  same  plateau  extends  with  gradually  increasing 
altitude  to  the  l)ase  of  the  St  Elias  mountains.  It  is  only  in  a 
general  way,  however,  that  these  areas  are  to  be  regarded  as 
|>lateaus.  When  considered  in  detail  the  surfac<!  is  extremely 
rough  and  broken.  The  river  valleys  lie  from  2,000  to  2,")00  feet 
below  the  general  i)lateau  l(>vel,  while  broad  and  rounded  dome- 
like sunnnits  and  a  t'cw  sharp  peaks  rise  from  "00  to  1.200  t'eet 
alutve  it;  but  there  a])pear  t(»  be  no  well  defined  ridges  or 
chains  of  peaks.     For  about  loO  miles  southwest  of  Selkirk  the 


130     C.  \V.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 


i  If 


(•(intours  are  generally  smooth  and  flowing,  aiid  the  surface, 
excei-t  in  the  southern  and  glaciated  portion  of  the  region,  shows 
the  ett'ect  of  long  continued  exposure  to  the  action  of  subaerial 
agencies.  While  rock  deca}'  has  made  little  progress,  so  that 
the  surface  is  practically  free  from  soil,  rock  disintegration  has 
been  extremely  active  and  the  country  is  thickly  mantled  with 
rock  debris  of  varying  degrees  of  coarseness.  Projecting  through 
this  mantle  of  debris,  above  smooth  gentle  slojies,  are  many 
isolated  pinnacles  and  towers  of  rock  rendered  especially  con- 
spicuous by  contrast  with  their  moss-covered  talus  slopes.  Sur- 
face degradation  is  greatly  retarded  l)y  the  luxuriant  growth  of 
moss  which  covers  practically  the  entire  surface  of  the  country. 
The  annual  precipitation  is  largely  confined  to  the  winter  months, 
and  the  water  from  the  melting  snow  is  held  by  the  sponge-like 
moss,  which  remains  saturated  throughout  the  short  but  hot  and 
dry  sunnner.  Thus,  with  a  rainfall  which  in  lower  latitudes 
would  condition  ati  arid  region,  a  large  j)art  of  the  surface  is 
swampy,  quite  irrespective  of  slope;  that  is,  wherever  the  ma- 
terial composing  it  is  sufficiently  compact  to  become  impervious 
to  water  by  freezing.  On  account  of  this  slow  and  imperfect 
surface  drainage  the  slopes  are  not  cut  into  the  ravines  and 
arroyas  so  (iharacteristic  of  arid  regions.  The  plateau  extends 
west  of  White  river,  though  it  is  there  rather  more  diversified 
than  toward  the  east  by  a  number  of  high  sharp  peaks,  prol»ably 
of  volcanic  origin. 

Apj)roaching  the  northern  base  of  the  St  F^lias  range  the 
plateau  character  is  almost  whi>lly  lost,  giving  way  to  st(,'ep  and 
rugged  though  not  loft}'  mountains  separated  by  rather  wide 
river  valleys.  There  is,  however,  no  merging  of  the  plateau  in 
the  St  Elias  mountains,  but  south  of  a  well  marked  limit  the 
whole  character  of  the  topograi)hy  suffers  a  complete  change. 
Between  the  southern  limit  of  tlie  interior  idateau  and  tlu; 
northern  base  of  the  St  Klias  mountains  is  a  depression  running 
parallel  with  the  mountain  range  and  having  an  altitude  of 
about  4,(MK)  feet.  It  contains  the  upper  part  of  White  river  for 
a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles,  and  i)robal)ly  also  in  its  north- 
western continuation  the  headwaters  of  the  Tananah.  Soutli- 
ward  across  this  depression  was  seen  the  abrui)t  northern  face 
of  the  St  Elias  mountains,  with  many  sharp  and  rugged  peaks 
rising  to  altitudes  of  10,()IK)  to  12,(KMM\'et.  Only  the  stt'cpest 
slopes  were  free  from  snow,  and  the  regit)n  presented  a  striking 


Plains  and  Snow-Fieldn. 


131 


contrast  to  the  ^vw.n  nioHrf-covcrcd  phitoau  country  toward  the 
north.  The  ran^e  here  occupies  a  l)elt  nbout  ei<flity  miles  in 
width  from  north  to  south.  Mr  Russell  saw  the  same  rej,'ion 
from  the  eastern  Hanks  of  mount  St  Elias,  and  he  describes  it  as 
"A  vast  snow-covered  region,  limitless  in  its  expanse,  through 
which  hundreds  and  proliably  thousands  of  barren,  angular 
mountain  peaks  project.  There  was  not  a  streaiu,  not  a  lake, 
not  a  vestige  of  vegetation  in  sight.  A  more  desolate  or  a  more 
utterly  lifeless  land  one  never  beheld.  Vast,  smooth  snow  sur- 
faces, without  crevasses  or  breaks,  stretched  away  to  seemingly 
limitless  distances,  diversified  only  by  jagged  and  angular  moun- 
tain i)eaks."* 

Drainage. 

The  Taku,  like  the  Stikine  and  other  rivers  toward  the  south, 
is  flowing  in  a  dee[>ly  buried  channel  excavated  when  the  land 
stood  relatively  much  higher  than  at  present.  Its  valley,  Avhich 
is  a  continuation  of  Taku  inlet,  is  from  one  to  two  miles  wide 
with  steep  sides  rising  in  many  |>laces  almost  vertically  from 
3,000  to  0,000  feet.  The  river,  interrupted  by  many  sand  bars 
and  low,  wooded  islands,  meanders  over  a  gravel  iloo(l])lain  be- 
tween tho  high  walls  of  tlie  valley.  Its  current  is  rapid  and  it 
is  transporting  to  the  inlet  great  quantities  of  sediment  from  its 
upper  course.  IJeyond  the  junction  of  the  no  -thern  and  southern 
forks,  Avhich  may  be  regarded  as  approximately  at  the  eastern  . 
limit  of  the  Coast  range,  the  valley  sides  are  ratlier  steep  to  an 
elevation  of  about  l.oOO  feet  from  the  river,  while  above  that' 
elevation  the  slopes  are  gentle  to  broad,  rouncied  summits  of  the 
interior  jdateau.  The  upper  l)ranches  of  the  Taku  How  in  open 
valleys  from  3,0(X)  to  4,0(K)  feet  above  sea  level,  indicating  a  long 
l)eriod  of  erosion  during  which  the  land  stood  at  a  much  lower 
level  than  at  present.  Similar  broad  vall(>ys  at  the  upper  courses 
of  many  rivers  in  British  Columbia  have  been  referred  l>y  Dr 
Dawson  t  to  long-continued  erosion  i  ii  middhi  Tertiary  time,  and 
it  is  i)rol)al)le  that  the  same  conditions  prevailed  far  to  the  north- 

*  Mount  St.  Klius  and  its  (ilaciers:  Am.  .Four.  Sci.,  .'!d  series,  vol.  xliii, 
]S<»2,  p.  171. 

t'On  the  later  Piiysiojrraphical  GeDUijry  of  the  Rocky  .Mountain  Heirion 
in  ('tiniuhi,  with  sijccial  reference  to  cliHU'Tt's  in  elevation  ami  to  the  iiis- 
tory  of  the  Olacial   IVriod  :   Trans.   I'oy.  Soc.  Can.,  vol.  viii,  sec.  Iv,  I.SIIO,    ; 
pp"l7-lil. 


rpj 


132     CW.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District . 

ward,  producing  the  broad  valleyn  of  the  upper  Taku  tril)utarieH. 
The  deep  ranyoii-Uke  valleys  in  the  lower  i)ortion  of  the  river 
ha.sin  represent  a  part  of  the  erosion  due  to  uplift  in  late  Tertiary 
and  Pleistocene  time. 

The  divide  between  the  Taku  and  Yukon  drainage  basins  is 
on  the  edge  of  an  escarpment  l)y  which  the  surface  drops  from 
the  high  plateau  2,()00  feet  to  the  level  of  Ahklen  valley.  The 
altitude  of  the  pass  is  5,100  feet,  which  corresponds  very  nearly 

A\  the  average  altitude  of  the  interior  plateau  at  this  point. 

(le  valley  is  from  twelve  to  twenty  miles  broad,  and  on  its 
eastern  side  is  the  steep  edge  of  a  plateau  corresponding  to  the 
one  on  the  west  and  extending  eastward  to  the  base  of  the  Cas- 
siar  range,  forty  or  fifty  miles  beyond.  Bounded  by  these  ap- 
proximately parallel  plateau  escarpments,  the  valley  extends  in 
an  almost  perfectly  straight  line  for  at  least  2")0  miles  in  a  north- 
west-southeast direction.  The  ujjper,  that  is,  the  southeastern, 
half  of  the  valley  is  occupied  by  lakes.  From  one  j)oint  on  the 
escarpment,  aflbrding  only  a  i»artial  view  of  the  valley,  fifty-four 
were  counted.  Of  these  lakes,  Ahklen^  is  the  northernmost  and 
l)y  far  the  largest.  This  lake  is  ninety-five  miles  in  length  and 
from  six  to  ten  in  breadth.  Several  small  streams  enter  the 
ui)per  end,  but  its  main  feeder  comes  in  from  the  northeast 
about  midway  between  the  head  of  the  lake  and  its  outlet.  This 
stream,  the  Nisutlin,  enters  the  head  of  an  inlet  about  ten  miles 
in  length  which  extends  at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of  the 
lake.  According  to  Mark  Russell,  who  has  prospected  the  stream, 
its  current  is  very  sluggish  for  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  mih^ 
aV)ove  the  head  of  the  inlet. 

IJeyond  the  lake  the  valley  continues  with  little  change,  ex- 
cept that  the  bounding  escarpments  draw  somewhat  closer  to- 
gether and  decrease  in  height  with  the  decreasing  altitude  of  the 
l»lateau  toward  the  north. 

A  consideration  of  the  name  to  be  a|)plied  to  the  river  which 

*Ain(^ii)j;  the  various  luinii'H  which  have  l)ce»  appUed  to  tlio  lake,  Ahkli'ii 
is  uiulouliteiliy  the  oiu"  which  slioiild  bo  retained.  It  is  tiio  imine  in  coin- 
1111)11  iiHO  iiiiioiif^  the  Tiiku  Iiuliiuis.  ()iu>  hniiich  of  this  tribe  i-iaiiiis  tlie 
coimtry  about  the  soutiiern  oud  of  the  liilve,  s|H.'ii<liiijj;  a  jiart  of  tiie  year 
tiiere  aii<i  coiiiiiig  out  to  the  coast  (hiring  the  sahiioii  siuisou.  Th»*  iiitiiie 
is  a  T'liiiket  word,  iiieaiiinfr  "  biff  water."  I  have  ehanjjed  tlie  spelliujr  of 
tlie  word  fioiii  ".\ivleiie,"  as  it  aiipeaiv  on  some  maps,  to  Ahklen,  wiiicli 
more  nearly  represents  the  native  pronimcialion. 


6  t 


! 


Jiivcr  Sjjslcms  mid  their  Names. 


133 


forins  the  outlet  of  lake  Ahklen  brings  up  the  whole  subject  of 
the  nomenclature  of  the  Yukon  and  its  tributaries.  The  sul)- 
ject  has  received  very  tlwrough  treatment  by  Dall,  Dawson,  and 
Russell,  so  that  the  history  of  discovery  in  the  Yukon  basin 
and  the  origin  of  the  names  apjtlied  to  tlic  Yukon  tributaries 
need  not  be  discussed  here.  From  a  consideration  of  the  physi- 
ography of  the  basin,  its  main  axis  must  l)e  regarded  as  coincid- 
ing with  the  Ahklen  valley  ;  but  I  can  hardly  agree  with  llussell 
that  this  is  sufficient  grounu  for  disregarding  well  estal dished 
usage,  as  he  has  done  in  continuing  the  name  Yukon  up  to  the 
lake.*  Inasmuch  as  the  rivers  in  (juestion  lie  almost  wholly 
within  Canadian  territory,  the  final  authority  upon  the  nomen- 
clature must  be  the  Canadian  board  of  geogra])hic  names,  and 
as  Dr  Dawson  has  given  the  sul)je('t  the  most  thorough  consid- 
eration T  have  followed  him.f  witli  a  few  minor  changes  in  the 
most  of  which  he  has  signified  Ins  concurrence.  The  name 
Yukon  is  applied  to  the  river  from  its  mouth  to  Selkirk.  The 
name  Pdh/  is  confined  to  what  has  l)cen  called  the  "  Up])er 
I'elly,"  /.  e..  from  Selkirk  to  its  head.  The  name  Lcvcs  is  applied 
to  the  river  from  Selkirk  to  lake  lindemann,  called  the  "  Yukon  " 
by  Schwatka.  Finally  the  river  (lowing  from  lake  Ahklen  is 
called  the  Tcslin,  that  l)cing  the  native  name  as  determined 
by  Schwatka  and  Dawson,  with  tlic  generic  portion  droj^ped. 
Thus  Schwatka  J  gives  "  Tesel-hina  "  (more  probably  Tes-el-in- 
hina)  and  Dawson,  "  Teslin-too ;  "  but  "  hina  "'  and  "  too  "  are 
generic  terms  for  river,  so  it  is  pro{)erly  Teslin  river.  The  name 
Ncwbemi,  apjdied  to  the  river  by  Schwatka  in  1888,  has  never 
come  into  general  use,  and  the  name  Ildtdlinqnd,  which  is  com- 
monly used  by  the  miners,  was,  as  Dawson  has  shown,  trans- 
ferred through  misapprehension  fi-om  another  tril)utary  of  the 
Lewes. 

The  floodplain  of  Teslin  river  is  something  over  a  mile  in 
width,  between  high  bluffs  of  silt  and  gravel  which  will  be 
mor6  fully   described   under  the  head  of  glacial  phenomena. 


*Notosonthe  Surface  (Joology  of  Aliis'ka  :  Bull.  (Icol,  Sor.  Am.,  vol.  1, 
18S!),  p.  107. 

t  Uei>ort  on  an  Exi)loration  in  tlie  Yukon  district,  X.  W.  Territory,  and 
adjacent  northern  jjortion  of  British  Coluinhia,  in  1SS7:  Ann.  Rep.  Gcol. 
Surv.  of  Canada  for  1HS7-.HS,  vol.  .•5,  |.t.  i,  ISSd,  i>p.  1  ir,-isr>. 

I  Report  of  a  Military  Reconnoissanci'  in  Alaska  niaile  in  18S;!,  W'asli- 
injjton,  l.SS.'),  map  (pt.  i,  sheet  4). 

1!I~\at.  (iKiMi.  Hr.\ii.,  MH.  IV,  ls;i^. 


irr 


1 1 
i'l 


134     C.  W.  Jlayea — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 

The  current  if  from  four  to  nix  miloH  por  liour  and,  except  for  a 
few  slu;:jrish  expansions  near  the  hike,  is  (juite  iinif«)rni  throuj^h- 
out.  The  water  was  exceptionally  hi^jh  in  the  si»rinfj;  of  181)1, 
however,  and  this  would  tend  to  increase  the  uniformity  and 
velocity  of  the  current.  There  are  no  shoals  or  rapids  which 
would  prevent  the  i)assage  of  a  river  steamer  from  its  mouth  to 
the  head  of  the  lake. 

The  course  of  White  river,  except  for  a  short  distance  near  its 
mouth,  has  hitherto  heen  entirely  unknown.  Some  miners  are 
said  to  have  spent  a  winter  at  the  first  fork,  about  sixty  miles 
from  the  Yukon,  but  beyond  this  they  have  failed  to  penetrate, 
probably  because  of  the  unpromisinj>;  character  of  tlie  stream, 
for  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  physical  obstacles  sufhciently  for- 
midal)le  to  turn  back  these  hardy  explorers. 

The  White  Hiver  basin  was  entered  by  the  writer  fifty  miles 
southwest  of  Selkirk.  From  the  high  land  between  the  Nisling* 
and  Donjok  the  main  valley  could  be  seen  for  a  long  distance 
north  and  south,  with  the  river  pursuing  its  extremely  tortuous 
coui-se  among  innumerable  low  islands  and  l)ars.  At  one  point 
alH)ve  the  mouth  of  the  Nisling  the  river  passes  through  the  point 
of  a  mountain  spur  by  a  narrow  canyon,  probably  a  case  of 
superposed  drainage  due  to  the  occupation  of  the  valley  by  ice. 
Further  northward  it  turns  sliarply  toward  the  west  and  enters 
a  dee[)  narrow  valley,  in  which,  by  native  rei)ort,  there  are  many 
dangerous  rapids. 

For  the  first  seventy  miles  in  the  White  River  l)asin  only  clear 
tributaries  were  crossed.  The  largest  of  these,  the  Nisling,  [)rob- 
al>ly  drains  the  greater  \)nvi  of  the  large  area  bounded  on  the 
east  by  the  Tahkeena  and  Lewes,  occupying  very  nearly  the 
l)osition  which  Dawson  has  assigned  for  the  main  White  river, 
but  receiving  no  })art  of  its  waters  from  the  high  C(}ast  range. 
Evidenth'  the  greater  [)art  of  the  northward-flowing  drainage  of 
the  St  Elias  mountains  is  carried  off  by  other  tributaries  of  the 
Wliite  river,  which  show  ample  evidence  of  glacial  origin  in 
their  extreme  turbidity.     The  Donjek  is  the  largest  eastern  tribu- 

*  In  luiiiiinj^  the  tributaries  of  Wliito  river  I  liuve  f()llo\vo<l  nsaj;e  among 
the  native  Indians  .«<)  far  a^•  i)o.«sil)le.  Some  of  the  names  required  slight 
inodilication  to  n'ndi'r  thi'ni  i)roiiounceai)U',  ami  in  most  easi's  themMieric 
jKirt  of  the  name  has  hcon  dropiKMl,  iis  "too,"  meaninjr  river,  ami  "dek," 
creek.  The  names,  however,  are  near  enough  to  their  indigenous  forms 
to  be  reeounized  l»v  the  natives  themselves. 


jy- 


strict. 


An  Jce-damiiied  Laic. 


135 


ocpt  for  a 
throuj,'li- 

r  of   181)1, 

rnity  and 
ds  which 
mouth  to 

je  near  its 
linerH  are 
sty  miles 
[(onetrate, 
e  stream, 
ently  for- 

ifty  miles 
!  Nisling* 
f  distaiK!C 
'  tortuous 
one  point 
the  point 
a  case  of 
ey  by  ice. 
,nd  enters 
are  many 

jnly  clear 
in*!,  prob- 
ed on  the 
early  the 
hite  river, 
list  range, 
rainafte  of 
ies  of  the 
origin  in 
;ern  tribu- 

■iiXjUi  among 
iiii-ed  slight 
tlu'gtMioric 

!Uld"(lck," 

lutiis  forms 


tary,  and  receives  the  nortliward  dritinage  from  the  greater  part 
of  the  St  Elias  mountains  east  of  the  141st  meridian.  There  was 
some  (juestion  as  to  which  branch  should  be  regarded  as  the 
main  river  and  which  the  tributary,  but  the  western  is  more 
nearly  in  the  axis  of  the  main  valley  and  is  probably  also  some- 
what larger  than  the  Donjek,  altliough  no  satisfactory  (compari- 
son could  be  made  as  the  conlluence  was  not  seen.  The  western 
branch  rises  in  Scolai  pass  from  the  northward-flowing  lobe  of 
Russell  glacier,  f  n  the  fifty  miles  (»f  its  course  lying  west  of  the 
international  boundary  it  receives  a  number  of  tributaries  from 
the  south,  all  of  which  tlow  from  glaciers.  This  i)art  of  the 
river  is  in  unstal)le  condition.  It  Hows  in  many  channels,  con- 
stantly shifting  its  position  upon  a  wide  gravel  plain  M'hich  is 
being  built  up  ])y  contributions  of  coarse  sediment  from  the  over- 
loaded stream. 

Scolai*  pass  is  a  low  gap  cut  through  the  range  Avhich  extends 
northwestward  to  the  Wrangell  grouj).  Russell  glacier,  from  the 
southeast.  Hows  into  the  pass  against  the  steep  western  wall, 
wiiich  turns  a  ])art  of  the  stream  northward  into  ^^'hite  river 
basin  and  turns  a  smaller  lo])e  toward  the  south,  so  that  for  about 
ten  miles  the  pass  is  filled  with  ice  at  least  several  hundred 
feet  in  depth.  The  altitude  of  the  divide,  which  is  near  the 
northern  edge  of  the  range,  is  5,040  feet,  or  al)out  1,000  f(!et  higher 
than  '  I.  upper  White  River  valley.  The  southern  lobe  of  the 
glacier  gives  rise  to  the  Nizzenah  river,  which  Hows  at  first  Avest- 
Avard  through  a  deep  canyon-like  \'alley  for  fifteen  miles,  and 
then  nearly  south Avard  altout  twenty  miles,  emerging  into  the 
valley  betAveen  the  two  divergent  mountain  ranges  already  de- 
scribed. At  the  point  Avhere  tlie  river  makes  its  sharp  bend  to- 
Avard  the  south,  a  glacier  coming  into  the  valley  from  tlie  north- 
Avest  has  dammed  its  Avaters  so  sis  to  form  a  lake  several  miles  in 
length.  Pushed  out  of  its  old  channel  by  the  ice,  the  stream 
floAA's  a  short  distance  across  a  rocky  point  and  then  plunges 
into  a  tunnel  in  the  ice  from  Avhieh  it  emerges  half  a  mile  beloAV. 
After  leaving  the  mountains  it  Hoavs  nearly  westAvard  for  thirty 
miles,  to  its  conlluence  with  the  t'liittenah,  and  the  latter  stream 
continues  in  the  same  course  about  fifty  miles  further  to  Copper 
riA'er.     These  eighty  miles  are  in  a  rather  broad,  open  valley, 

*  "  Sfolai "  ia  the  mune  by  Avhich  the  Copper  rix'cr  chief,  Nicolal,  is  known 
among  all  tlie  Yukon  natives. 


rfp- 


H'm 


! 


Illiil 


'  ii 


13()     C.  IF.  Ifaijcs — Expedition  flmniyh  the  Yxkou  I)i»trict. 

thouj^h  till'  lloodpliiin  is  Itonk'rctl  l>y  jinivol  Mutts  about  a  mile 
aiiart  and  from  '2(M)  to  -UK)  tVet  hifili. 

The  courne  of  Copper  river  from  the  mouth  of  theChittotiah  to 
the  coast  is  nearly  (hie  south.  Tlie  river  lias  eutthroujjli  tin;  Coast 
range  a  valley  which  closely  resemhles  that  of  the  lower  Taku. 
Its  walls  are  high  and  rugged,  and  the  stream  meanders  from 
side  to  side  over  a  Hoodplain  of  coarse  gravel. 

Miles  glacier,  which  is  the  largest  of  several  ice  streams  tribu- 
tary to  ('opjx'r  river  along  its  lower  course,  has  ()ushed  across 
the  valley,  forming  slack  water  several  miles  up  the  river.  The 
glacier  is  now  retreating,  but  its  northern  lateral  moraine  remains 
a.s  a  dam,  over  Avhich  the  river  tuml»les  in  a  series  of  rapids.  The 
lake  formed  by  this  dam  is  almost  entirely  filled  with  gravel  in 
its  ii|>per  portion  and  with  tine  sand  and  mud  below,  so  that  the 
water  is  for  thi;  most  part  only  a  fcAv  inches  in  depth. 

A  short  distance  below  Mil  -  glacier  is  the  head  of  the  delta, 
which  reaches  thirty  miles  southward  to  the  line  of  l»ars  or  keys 
at  the  edge  of  deep  water.  Excepting  a  few  sand  dunes,  the  delta 
consists  of  broad,  level  meadows  and  still  more  extent^ive  mud 
flats  exposed  at  low  tide.  Deposition  is  going  on  at  a  rapid 
rate  o\tr  this  considerable  area,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  subsidence!  also  is  taking  i)lace.  There  are  no  trees  grow- 
ing upon  the  delta  now,  but  the  remains  t)f  many  large  spruce 
trees  were  observed  standing  several  feet  below  tide-water. 

Veoktation. 

The  vegetation  of  the  Yukon  basin  pre.sents  a  marked  contrast 
to  that  of  the  coa.st,  the  luxuriance  of  which  is  too  well  known  to 
re(|uire  dcscrijjtion.  This  contrast  consist)-  more  in  the  amount 
of  vegetati(m  than  in  the  difference  of  species.  Cut  ot\  by  high 
mountains  from  the  abundant  supi)lies  of  moisture  which  the 
coast  enjoys,  the  interior  supports  a  comparatively  scanty  growtli, 
especially  of  arl)oreal  vegetation,  while  some  of  the  moisture- 
loving  species  of  the  coast  are  ab.sont.  Excepting  surfaces 
covered  by  snow  or  ice  throughout  the  year  and  the  stecjpest 
rocky  cliffs  and  screes,  i>ractically  the  whole  Yukon  basin,  as 
well  as  the  Alaskan  coast  strip,  is  covered  by  a  more  or  less 
luxuriant  growth  of  moss.  Meadows  of  coars(!  grass  were  seen 
in  a  few  of  the  interior  valleys  and  some  of  the  gravel  terraces 
along  Tcslin  and  licwcs  rivera  are  covered  with  sage  brush,  but 


The  Tundra  and  the  meager  Forests. 


137 


those  anriis  an;  wholly  in.Hijjiiificant  wlicn  (M)iii|>j\n'(l  with  those 
which  arc!  covort'd  with  moss.  Tiic  Itlack  ahk-r,  so  nlniixhiiit  on 
the  coast,  is  also  very  coiniuon  in  the  interior,  hut  in  a  ilwarJ""*! 
form,  (It'creasinj;  in  size;  with  incrt'asiiij^  altitudes  from  toi;  or 
twelve  feet  in  the  valleys  to  a  few  inches  on  the  hijiher  parts  of 
the  |»lateau.  The  U|>i)er  limit  of  the  spruce  forests  is  reache(l 
along  the  coast  at  an  altitutle  of  al)out  1,.S(K)  feet,  hut  this  limit, 
alonfj  with  the  snow  line,  gradually  ascends  toward  the  interior. 
The  high  valleys  of  the  Taku  trihutaries  have  considerahle  spruce 
tim  )er.  although  the  trees  are  not  dose  together  and  the  largest 
are  seldom  over  a  foot  in  diameter.  Taku  |>ass,  with  an  altitude 
of  o  10()  feet,  is  approximately  at  the  timher  line  and  only  a  few 
stunted  trees  manage  to  exist  there. 

Ahklen  valley  is  ijuite  heavily  timhereil,  and  some  trees 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  the  largest  seen  anywhere  in  the 
interior,  were  amo?ig  the  drift  from  Nisutlin  river. 

In  the  White  River  basin  only  the  valleys  are  wooded,  the 
timher  extending  less  ihan  a  thousand  feet  up  their  sides,  while 
the  greater  part  of  the  plateau  surface  is  i)ractically  treeless. 
The  timher  line  on  the  northern  side  of  the  St  Elias  mountains 
ha.s  an  altitude  of  about  4.o(X)  feet. 

The  Chittenah  and  ("o])per  river  valleys  feel  the  influence  of 
the  coast  climate,  and  their  vegetation  is  conseijuently  much 
more  luxuriant  than  in  the  valleys  of  White  Hiver  basin. 

Hakd  Geology. 


Character  of  the  Obxerrations  — -Any  attempt  to  solve  the  many 
ditlicult  problems  connected  with  the  geology  of  the  region  trav- 
ersed would  necessitate  detailed  study  of  large  areas.  The  op- 
portunities afforded  by  a  hasty  reconnaissance  along  a  single 
line  of  travel  are  obviously  inadeipiate  t(»  the  solution  of  these 
problems,  particularly  when  the  greater  part  of  the  geologist's 
energy  is  absorbed  in  overcoming  the  physical  ob.staclcs  to  his 
{progress  and  in  making  even  the  crudest  topograjdiic  map  to 
which  to  refer  his  observations. 

The  most  satisfactory  information  on  the  hard  geology  of  any 
portion  of  this  region  is  contained  in  Dawson's  report,  ahead}' 
cited,  on  the  geology  of  the  Yukon  district.  Dr  Dawson  had  the 
great  advantage  of  familiarity  with  similar  rocks  and  geologic 
problems  from  i»revious  .study  in  Hritiyh  Columbia.     He  was  also 


WT^ 


m 


\m\\ 


'    i     !  '   I     III 


138     0,  [V.  Ilaycs — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 

in  a  position  to  control  the  movements  of  his  party,  and  so  was 
able  to  give  more  than  a  passing  glance  to  points  of  special  im- 
portance. Since  the  writer  was  without  previous  ac(iuaintance 
with  the  rocks  of  the  Cordillcran  system  and  had  iio  opportunity 
for  observation,  except  as  it  was  afforded  along  the  route  or  at 
stops  selected  without  reference  to  the  geology,  the  information 
obtained  is  ofiered  only  as  supplementary  to  the  observations 
made  by  others  and  as  preliminary  to  the  more  thorough  study 
of  those  who  may  hereafter  visit  the  region. 

Roch  of  Takii  Vnlky. — The  section  affonhvl  by  Taku  river  as  it 
cuts  through  the  Coast  range  is  (piite  similar  to  those  described 
by  Dawson  on  Stikine  river  and  (,"hilk(K)t  pass.  After  leaving 
the  argillites  of  the  coast,  which  extend  to  near  the  head  of  Taku 
inlet,  a  broad  belt  of  gray  hornblende  granite  is  crossed  ;  this  is 
called  the  Coast  Range  granite  by  Dawson.  The  belt  is  about 
forty  miles  in  width,  extending  nearly  to  the  South  fork  of 
the  Taku.  In  addition  to  the  granites,  this  belt  also  contains 
altered  eruptive  rocks  in  horizontal  or  undulating  and  some- 
times highly  contorted  beds. 

Rocks  of  the  interior  Platemi. — Forming  the  high  plateau  between 
the  Coast  range  and  Ahklen  valley  is  a  somewhat  l)roadcr  l)elt, 
containing  a  great  variety  of  rocks,  ])t)tli  eruptive  and  sediment- 
ary but  all  highly  altered.  TI:e  sedimentary  rocks  consist  of 
limestones  and  marl)les,  shales  and  shvtes  with  conglomerates, 
sandstones  nnd  quartzites.  The  least  altereil  mend)ers  of  this 
series  are  along  the  western  side  of  the  belt.  At  the  junction 
of  the  North  and  South  forks  of  the  Taku,  near  the  eastern 
limit  of  the  Coast  Range  granites,  there  are  l)huk  slaty  shales  and, 
api)arently  overlying  them  with  a  dip  of  from  25°  to  50°  north- 
eastward, are  compact  bluish  limestones.  Still  farther  eastward 
there  are  siliceous  shales  with  lavge  conglomeratic  peV)bles  of  the 
underlying  limestone.  The  i)cbbles  cuntain  some  obscure  fossils, 
jtrobably  Carboniferous,  which  would  indicuitc  a  Mesozoie  or  later 
age  for  the  shales.  These  slightly  altered  rocks  occupy  a  belt 
about  eight  miles  wide,  east  of  which  lies  a  region  traversed  l)y 
many  dikes  that  have  converted  ])robably  similar  shales  and 
limestones  into  talcose  slate  and  highly  crystalline  marble. 

Among  the  non-sedimentary  rocks  of  this  plateau  belt  there 
are  many  basic  eruptives  largely  altered  to  serp(>ntine,  and  also 
considerable  areas  of  granite.  .\  portion  at  least  of  the  granite 
is  older  than  the  sediments  as  indicated  by  basal  eonglomeratos 


Complex  geologic  Struclure. 


130 


at  tho  contacts.  The  hnau;  (sruptivcs  arc  confined  to  a  narrow 
strip  less  than  a  (juarter  of  the  width  of  the  plateau  belt  and 
lying  along  its  western  side.  The  seiiuencc  of  these  rocks,  as 
well  as  their  relation  to  the  Coast  kange  granite,  is  extremely 
involved,  and  much  further  study  will  be  reciuired  in  order  fully 
to  determine  these  relations.  Their  age  is  probably  upper 
Paleozoic  and  Mesozoic,  though  very  few  fossils  were  found  and 
none  except  in  the  less  altered  western  portion  of  the  belt. 

East  of  Ahklen  valley  there  is  another  belt  of  granite,  quite 
distinct  in  character  from  that  of  the  Coast  range.  It  is  free 
from  hornblende  and  contains  a  large  amount  of  pink  feldspar, 
giving  a  decided  red  color  to  the  rock  in  mass.  The  granite  has 
in  some  places  a  well  develo[)ed  gneissoid  structure,  the  cleavage 
being  approximately  parallel  with  the  direction  of  the  lake. 
Teslin  river  Hows  in  a  valley  deeply  lilled  witli  silt  and  gravel, 
so  that  not  more  than  two  or  three  rock  exposures  occur  through- 
out its  whole  length  ;  but  so  far  as  could  be  determined  at  a  dis- 
tance the  escari)ments  on  both  sides  of  the  valley  are  comjxjsed 
of  rocks  similar  to  those  forniing  the  plateau  west  of  the  lake. 
About  thirty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river  the  liills  toward 
the  northeast  are  composed  of  bright  red  sandstones  with  yellow 
and  gray  shales,  prol)al)ly  less  altered  and  perhaps  younger  than 
any  of  the  sandstones  above  descril)ed. 

The  extensive  plateau  region  l)etween  the  Yukon  river  and  tho 
northern  base  of  the  .St  Elias  mountains  is  cotnposed  of  various 
kinds  of  crystalline  rocks  with  small  arcvas  of  highly  altered  sedi- 
ments. CJray  hornblende  granite  similar  to  that  forming  the 
Coast  range  of  sontiiern  Alaska  occurs  in  a  somewhat  narrow 
Itelt  just  north  of  the  St  Elias  mountains.  The  prevailing  rock 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  n'gion  north  (jf  this  belt  is  a  reddish 
granite  fjuite  free  from  hornblende  and  frci|U<'iitly  containing 
large  porphyritic  crystals  of  l"cldsi»ar.  Hoth  kinds  of  granite  are 
cut  l)y  numerous  ;iikes  or  covered  by  sheets  of  eruptive  rocks, 
from  the  most  recent  vesicular  basaltic  lavas  to  higldy  altered 
diabase.  The  red  granites,  at  leiist,  appear  to  be  .\rchcan,  de- 
posited upon  which  are  small  areas  of  sedimentary  rocks  that 
liave  been  infolded  with  the  granite  and  penetrated  l)y  the  basic 
dikes  and  thus  so  completely  changed  from  tlieir  original  con- 
dition that  no  clue  is  allordcd  as  to  their  age.  They  consist  of 
aikose-conglomerates.  slates  and  marl)lcs.  Xortb  of  tlic  Klnaiilu 
vall(!V  the  only  clastic  rocks  seen  were  a  il'w  exposures  of  con- 


(TH 


140     C.  W.  Hayes — Ex^^edilion  through  the  Yukon  District. 

glomerate  and  schist.  The  district  between  the  Donjek  and 
Koidern  rivers  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  white  marble  and 
talcose  schist,  and  is  the  largest  observed  area  of  sedimentary 
rocks  between  the  St  Elias  mountains  and  the  Yukon. 

Rocka  of  Scolnl  Pass. — As  already  described,  two  slightly  diver- 
gent ranges,  separated  by  the  Chittenah  valley,  extend  toward 
the  west  and  northwest  from  mount  St  Elias.  The  geology  of 
the  northern  range  is  simple.  In  the  walls  of  Scolai  pass,  by 
which  the  range  was  crossed,  its  stratigra})hy  and  structure  are 
magnificentl}'  disj)laye(l.  The  rocks  are  comparatively  recent, 
for  the  most  i)art  Carboniferous,  Triassic,  and  Cretaceous.  A 
bed  of  limestone  about  oOO  feet  thick  contains  many  crinoids 
and  corals,  probably  of  Carboniferous  age.  Above  it  are  red 
sandstone  and  jasper  and  a  great  thickness  of  black  shale.  Col- 
lections of  fossils  from  the  limestone  and  the  black  shale  were 
made,  but  before  reaching  the  coast  they  unfortunately  were 
lost,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  small  piece  of  shale;  this, 
however,  contained  several  tolerably  perfect  impressions  and 
was  submitted  to  Professor  Alpheus  Hyatt  for  identification. 
He  says  :  "  Thi'  fossils  in  the  shale  are  clearly  the  reinains  of  a 
Monotlx  of  a  Triassic  type,  allied  to  M.  suhcirctdaris,  CJabb,  a  char- 
acteristic Triassic  form  in  California.  This  one  seems  to  be 
distinct  specifically,  but  is  evidently  of  the  same  age.'' 

Interl)edded  with  tliese  sedinunitary  rocks  and  jienetrating 
them  as  dikes  arc  fine-grained,  greenish  amygdaloid  lavas  form- 
ing perhaps  half  of  the  whole  rock-mass.  The  structure  of  the 
rangd^  consists  essentially  of  a  broad,  gentle  sj'uclinal,  with  a 
highly  contorted  belt  on  either  side. 

Kxcellertt  examples  of  tyi)ical  faa  structure  were  seen  in 
the  intensely  plicated  rocks  which  form  the  abrupt  northern  face 
of  the  range.  This  structure  is  remarkably  well  shown  in  the 
sides  of  the  gorge  from  which  KIctsan  creek  issues.  The  ')()()- 
foot  stratum  of  white  limestone  above  referred  to  is  folded  in 
with  dark  greenish-black  erui)tivc  rocks  so  as  to  form  a  double 
V ;  the  ovcrturnc<l  southern  synclinal  limbs  dip  southward  about 
30°  and  45°,  while  the  normal  northern  liml)s  are  nearly  hori- 
zontal. 

This  plicated  belt  on  the  nortlu'rn  side  of  the  mountains  is 
about  six  miles  wid(>.  and  south  of  it  the  synclinal  in  which  the 
')eds  are  practically  I'.orizoiitid  (coinciding  Avith  the  axis  (»f  the 
ninge)  (H'cupics  a  belt  IVom  twcnty-(ivc  to  thirty  miles  in  widtii. 


Hstrid. 


Typical  overthrust  Faulting. 


141 


>onjek  and 
narble  and 
?dimentary 
n. 

;htly  diver- 
!nd  toward 
geology  of 
ai  pass,  by 
ructuro  are 
^'cly  recent, 
aceous.  A 
ny  crinoids 
it  are  red 
shale.  Col- 
shale  were 
lately  wer»' 
shale;  this, 
lissions  an«l 
I'ntifioation. 
oinains  of  a 
abl),  a  char- 
ecms  to  he 

penetrating 
lavas  forin- 
'ture  of  the 
inal,  witli  a 

re  seen  in 
rtliern  face 
lown  m  the 
The  5(K»- 
foldc<l  in 
rni  a  douhlc 
iward  ahont 
nearly  hori- 

lountains  is 

n  which  the 

axis  of  tlu' 

cs  in  widtli. 


IS 


On  the  southern  side  of  the  range  there  is  a  region  of  disturbed 
rocks  similar  to  that  on  the  north,  l)ut  somewhat  wider  and  less 
minutely  jdicatcd.  The  structure  is  well  shown  in  the  lower 
portion  of  the  Nizzenah  canyon,  whose  walls  rise  from  2,000  to 
3,000  feet  vertically  above  the  river.  One  excellent  example  of 
faulting  was  observed.  A  l^ed  of  white  limestone  about  5(X)  feet 
in  thickness,  prol)abl}'  a  continuation  of  the  one  in  which  the 
fan  structure  wa;"  observed  on  the  northern  side  of  the  range, 
has  been  broken  across  and  thrust  over  upon  itself  a  distance  of 
lialf  a  mile.  Within  this  space  tliere  appear  to  be  two  conft)rm- 
alde  beds  of  limestone  in  place  of  one.  The  diagramatic  form 
in  which  the  fault  is  disjjlayed  on  the  canyon  wall  confirms  cer- 
tain theories  as  to  tlie  mechanisnj  of  such  faults  derived  from 
much  more  oltscure  phenomena  in  other  regions.  Evidently 
iblding,  due  to  lateral  compression,  had  been  only  slighth'  de- 
veloped when  a  shearing  fracture  took  place  across  the  rigid  bed. 
The  fracture  did  not  extend  far  on  either  side  of  the  limestone, 
but  the  thin-bedded  black  shales  al)ove  and  below  are  intensely 
plicated,  having  taken  up  the  lateral  comjircssion  l)y  folding 
instead  of  faulting.  Apparently  the  conditions  which  determined 
the  formation  of  a  fault  rather  than  a  series  of  folds  in  the  lime- 
stone were,  first,  the  great  dift'erencc  in  rigidity  between  that  bed 
and  the  adjacent  shales  and,  second,  the  absence  of  a  heavy  load 
upon  the  beds  during  the  compression. 

Nizzenah  river,  for  altout  seven  miles  above  its  confluence 
with  the  Chittenah,  flows  in  a  narrow  canyon  with  rocky  walls 
from  400  to  5(X)  fcjet  high.  For  a  short  distance  above  the  canyon 
the  gravel  blufl's  are  replaced  by  cliffs  of  calcareous  Idack  shale 
apparently  very  recent  and  only  slightly  afl'ected  hy  the  com- 
pression which  has  disturl)ed  the  rocks  lying  on  the  north.  At 
the  upper  end  of  the  canyon  the  black  shale  contains  beds  of 
extremely  coarse  conglomerate,  and  is  succeeded  by  black  slate 
and  niica  schist,  the  latter  containing  many  small  quartz  veins. 
.\n  east-and-west  line  through  the  upjier  part  of  this  canyon  ap- 
|)ears  to  be  the  approximate  limit  <>f  the  little  altered  rocks 
forming  the  northern  range. 

AV/-.S  (if  ('(tj)i)(r  Uirci-  Vullrii. — Several  massive  dikes  intersect 
the  course  of  the  ("hittenah  a  fi'w  miles  above  its  junction  with 
the  Copper,  forming  high  clifls,  and  a  number  of  rocky  iolands 
in  the  river  chaimcl.     The  dikes  iirc  composed  of  a  very  com- 

ai— Nat,  liKdci.  Mail,  vm,,  IV,  Isicj. 


imr^ 


11  r 


I  !    ' 

!  1 1 


i 


liih 


142     C.  W.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yxilcou  District. 

\iact  greenish-black  rock,  traverHcd  by  man}'  streaks  of  lighter 
green  seri)entinc  anil  white  veins  apparently  of  calcite.  Tlie 
rocks  of  the  southern  range  which  extends  westward  from  St 
p]lias  differ  widely  from  those  exposed  in  Scolai  pass.  About 
Taral  they  consist  for  the  most  part  of  siliceous  talcose  schist 
with  gray  hornblende  granite,  which  is  apparently  eruptive. 
Between  Taral  and  the  coast  the  prevailing  rocks  are  bluish-gray 
([Uartzite  or  quartzite-schist.  The  moraines  of  glaciers  along  the 
lower  course  of  Copper  river  flowing  from  the  eastward  are  com- 
posed largely  of  eruptive  granites  and  granitoid  gneiss  contain- 
ing inclusions  of  black  slate  and  schist.  All  the  sedimentary 
rocks  between  the  Chittenah  and  the  coast  have  been  so  thor- 
oughly metamorphosed  that  their  original  bedding  is  wholly 
obliterated,  and  no  statement  can  yet  l)e  made  as  to  their  prol)- 
able  age. 

Rc-ks  of  Prince  Williaia  Sound. — Forming  the  shores  about 
Prince  William  sound  there  is  a  series  of  black  shales  and  thin- 
l)edded  dark-l)rowii  sandstones.  They  are  higldy  contorted  and 
somewhat  altered,  especially  the  shales.  The  strike,  wherever 
any  regularity  can  be  detected,  is  about  north-and-south,  and 
the  dips  are  generally  steep,  often  vertical.  They  l)ear  a  strong 
resenddance  to  the  rocks  of  the  Yakutat  series  described  by  Rus- 
sell,* and  it  is  not  imi)rol)able  that  they  are  the  continution  west- 
ward of  that  series.  Fossil  plants  are  rejiorted  to  occur  in  these 
rocks  at  some  points  on  Prince  William  yound,  but  none  have 
yet  been  collected.  While  the  series  is  perhaps  all  Mesozoic  or 
younger,  any  statement  as  to  its  age  made  at  tlie  |)resent  time 
must  be  regarded  as  purely  liypothetic. 

Mineral  Resourcrs. 

Gold. — Placer  gold  occurs  widely  dis.seminated  tlirougliout  the 
Yukon  basin,  though  only  in  a  few  ])laces  lias  it  been  found  in 
sulli(nent  (juantity  to  make  profitable  working.  Th(;  most  im- 
jxirtaiit  of  tliese  are  bars  along  the  I.ewes  between  Teslin  and 
Little  Salmon  rivers  and  on  Forty-mile  creek,  a  southern  tribu- 
tary of  the  Yukon  emi)tying  near  the  141st  meridian.  Ten  men 
were  located  on  the  bars  of  the  liCwes,  and,  although  the  water 

*Aii  I'',xiK'<Iiti(ni  to  MiMiiil  St  Kliiis.  Alaska  :  Nat.  ^icny:.  Ma;;.,  veil,  iii, 
1S!M,  p.  1(17. 


Alaska's  Gold  and  Copper. 


143 


was  very  high  when  we  went  down,  they  are  said  to  have  done 
well  in  the  latter  part  of  the  season. 

One  meniher  of  our  party,  Mark  Russell,  Avas  equipped  with 
long  experience  in  prospecting  both  for  placer  and  vein  gold, 
and  while  the  necessity  for  getting  through  the  country  as  rap- 
idly as  possible  i)revente(l  anythWig  like  an  exiiaustive  examina- 
tion, still  enough  was  done  to  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  resources  of 
the  region  traversed.  While  in  White  River  basin  we  .also  had 
the  benefit  of  Mr  Bowker's  experience.  A  few  "  colors  "  were 
found  on  most  of  the  l)ranches  of  White  river  which  we  crossed, 
but  it  was  all  fine  gold  and  afforded  nothing  which  could  l)e 
regarded  as  a  good  prosi)ect.  The  indications  oi  gold-l)earing 
(juartz  were  even  less  encouraging.  Practically  no  vein  (piartz 
was  seen  between  Selkirk  and  Sct)lai  [)ass,  either  in  2)lace  or 
among  the  stream  gravels.  Along  tlie  lower  portion  of  the  Niz- 
zenah  and  thence  southward  to  near  the  mouth  of  (,'opper  river 
considerable  quartz  occurs  in  small  stringers  through  the  schist, 
so  that  there  is  a  i)ossibility  of  this  region  containing  gold-bearing 
veins. 

Copper. — Native  copj)er  has  long  been  known  to  exist  in  the 
Copper  River  basin,  but  exactly  where  or  in  what  quantity  has 
never  been  ascertained  through  actual  examination  1)y  a  com- 
I)etent  observer.  Its  occurrence  in  ^^']lite  River  basin  also  has 
Ijeen  suspected  from  tlie  i)resence  of  native  copper  among  the 
Yukon  Indians,  altlK)ugh  they  were  knt>\vn  to  trade  with  those 
living  on  Copper  river  from  whom  they  might  have  obtained  the 
metal.  The  Pelly  Indians  whom  we  secured  at  Selkirk  for 
packers  j)romised  to  show  us  the  source  from  which  in  the  past 
they  had  secured  copper  for  making  arrow-heads  and  more 
recently  for  making  l»ullets,  which  are  still  used  to  some  extent 
when  lead  cannot  be  o])tainod.  While  still  at  Selkirk  they 
told  us  of  great  masses  of  co|)per  as  large  as  houses  on  a  stream 
called  the  Klet-san-dek,  or  Coi)[)er  creek,  flowing  into  White  river 
near  its  source.  As  we  approached  this  locality,  however,  the 
masses  of  copper  rapidly  decreased  in  size,  first  to  pieces  as  big 
as  a  man  and  then  to  bowlders  of  such  size  that  they  coubl  be 
lifted  by  lirying  witb  a  stout  stick,  and  tinally  wliat  they  actually 
showed  us  consisted  of  small  nuggets,  the  largest  oidy  a  fi'W 
ounces  in  weight. 

Kletsati  creek  issues  from  a  narrow  gorge  in  the  steep  northern 


rrprn 


'     'Ml' 

In 

'li! 

!  ill 


H\m\\ 


i    Mil 


144     C.  W.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 

face  of  the  St  Elias  mountains,  flowing  from  numerous  small 
glaciers  a  mile  or  two  back  from  and  several  thousand  feet  above 
the  valley  of  White  river.  At  a  former  stage,  probably  when  the 
glaciers  descended  to  a  much  lower  level,  the  stream  deposited 
a  broad  alluvial  cone  about  the  mouth  of  the  gorge.  This  de- 
jjosit  of  gravel  is  now  being  cut  away  and  in  its  lower  portions 
or  in  crevices  of  the  bed  rock  numerous  small  nuggets  of  native 
copper  are  found.  This  seemed  to  be  the  only  locality  for  the 
metal  known  to  the  Indians  who  were  with  us,  th<High  i)ieces 
which  had  been  cut  from  a  larger  mass  were  shown  us  by  those 
whom  we  met  on  Kluantu  river.  It  is  not  probable,  however, 
that  any  of  the  Yukon  basin  Indians  are  accpiainted  with  exten- 
sive deposits  of  native  copper,  since  they  have  very  little  of  the 
metal  in  their  possession  and  hold  a  greatly  exaggerated  idea  of 
its  value.  Some  time  was  spent  in  searching  for  the  source  of 
the  copper  on  Kletsan  creek  but  without  success  as  we  soon 
reached  the  snow  line,  beyond  which,  of  course,  further  search 
was  impracticable.  It  api)ears  to  have  been  brought  by  glaciers 
from  the  region  toward  the  south  which  is  still  covered  by  snow 
and  ice.  It  is  associated  with  greonish-black  amygdaloid  lavu 
and  red  sandstone  and  jasper,  rocks  which  resemble,  superficially 
at  least,  those  of  the  copper-bearing  series  of  the  lake  Superior 
region. 

A  small  quantity  of  what  appeared  to  be  azurite,  pulverized 
and  used  as  a  pigment,  was  shown  us  by  the  Yukon  Indians. 
They  said  it  came  from  the  country  beyond  Scolai  pass,  but  we 
were  unable  to  learn  its  exact  source  or  how  they  obtained  it. 

According  to  Allen's  account,  the  chief  of  the  Copper  river 
Indians  told  him  of  the  existence  of  native  copper  and  also  of 
coj)per  ores  in  the  upper  Chittcnah  valley  between  the  two  main 
streams,  but  he  did  not  visit  the  locality.  We  expected  io  find 
Indians  <m  the  Nizzenah  near  the  point  where  it  emerges  from 
the  mountain  ])ass  and  to  be  al)le  to  examine  the  copper  of  this 
region,  but  unfortunately  Nicolai  and  his  tribe  were  at  their 
summer  fishing  station.  Taral,  and  it  was  too  hite  in  the  season 
to  return  to  the  copper  region  whidi  we  had  passed. 

Doubtless  this  interesting  region  on  l)otli  sides  of  Scolai  pass 
will  be  found  on  careful  examination  to  contain  considerable 
mineral  wealth,  l)Ut  the  extreme  difiiculty  of  access  together  with 
the  unfavorable  climatic  conditions  will  greatly  retard,  if  not 
wholly  prevent,  the  development  of  its  resources. 


^\ 


Living  and  lately  dead  Volcanoes. 


145 


Volcanic  Piienomkxa.  ♦ 

Active   Volcanoes. 

Volcanic  activity  in  the  United  States  within  historical  times 
has  been  confined  wholly  to  Alaska,  and,  excei)ting  somewhat 
mythical  eruptioiks  of  mount  Calder  on  Prince  (>f  Wales  island 
in  1775,  and  of  mount  Edgecumbe  in  1796  it  has  l)een  confined 
to  the  southwestern  extremity  of  the  territory.  The  most 
easterly  known  crater  which  shows  any  activity  at  present  is 
mouni  Wrangell,  This  was  observed  for  several  days  during 
August,  1891,  from  Taral,  at  the  confiuence  of  Chittenah  and 
Copper  rivers.  It  lies  al)out  fifty-five  miles  nearly  north  of 
Taral,  and  only  the  top  of  the  mountain,  a  sharp  black  cone, 
appears  above  the  intervening  broad  snow-covered  dome  of 
mount  Blackburn.  From  this  cone  masses  of  densely  black 
vapor  were  constantly  rising.  At  intervals  of  about  half  a 
minute  a  cloudy  pillar  would  rear  itself  to  a  height  of  several 
thousand  feet  and,  floating  off  toward  the  east,  quickly  dis- 
ai)pear,  to  l)e  replaced  by  another  burst  of  vapor  from  the 
crater.  No  illumination  of  the  vapor  was  noticed  at  night  and, 
so  far  as  I  could  learn  from  the  chief  Nicolai,  no  ap])earance  of 
fire  was  ever  seen.  According  to  the  diary  of  John  Brenner,*  a 
miner,  who  spent  the  winter  of  1884-"85  at  Taral,  the  volcano 
was  at  that  time  in  a  state  of  somewhat  violent  eruption.  He 
says : 

"The  volcano  has  been  verj-  qniot  a  good  while,  hut  today  it  is  send- 
ing out  a  vast  (tolunni  of  smoke  and  hurlint;  immense  stones  hundreds  of 
feet  hiph  in  tiie  air.  The  masses  it  is  throwing  up  nuist  he  very  large  to 
he  seen  here.  *  *  *  It  has  made  no  loud  re})Pi is,  only  a  sort  of  rum- 
bling noise." 

It  is  possible  that  an  active  volcano  may  exist  east  of  mount 
Wrangell  in  the  upper  White  river  ])asin,  but  our  information 
as  to  its  existence  depends  on  tiie  vague  and  unreliable  state- 
ments of  the  Yukon  natives — statements  that  may  refer  to 
mount  Wrangell.  8ome  sharp  cones  Avere  seen  northwest  of 
lake  Wellesley  and  also  some  in  the  St  Elias  mountains  between 
Klutlan  glacier  and  Scolai  pass.  Their  volcanic  origin,  how- 
ever, could  only  be  inferred,  and  any  present  activity   would 

*Tlie  Shores  and  Alps  of  .Vlaska,  H.  W.  iSeton  Karr :  London,  1887,  p. 
2 IV). 


mm 


I. 

I  I   ■!ll 


iil 


140     C,  IF.  Hayes — Expcdilion  through  the  Yukon  District. 

hi^xc  boon  concealed  from  us  by  the  cloudw  which  hung  ab<mt 
their  summits. 

Recent  volcanic  Aclivily. 

The  most  striking  effect  of  recent  volcanic  activity  in  this 
region  is  the  wide-spread  deposit  of  volcanic  ash,  or  tuia,  whi(^h 
covers  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  Yukon  basin.  This 
deposit  was  first  noted  by  Schwatka  in  his  reconnaissance  of 
188'i.  It  was  more  fully  described  as  it  occurs  on  the  Pelly  and 
Lewes  by  Dawson  in  his  report  of  the  Yukon  expedition  of 
1880,  and  was  noted  by  McConnell  in  1887  and  lUissell  in  1889 
on  the  Yukon  and  liCwes. 

It  was  first  seen  by  our  party  on  Teslin  river  shortly  after 
leaving  lake  Ahklen,  and  from  this  point  northward  it  forms  a 
conspicuous  and  nearly  continuous  white  }>and  in  vwi  l)anks 
of  the  river  nearly  down  to  Selkirk,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
I^ewes  and  Pelly.  Where  first  seen  the  layer  of  tufa  was  less 
than  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  from  this  increased  to  a  niaxi- 
mum  of  nearh'  a  foot  near  the  mouth  of  the  Teslin,  with  some 
local  accumulations  of  two  or  three  feet.  Tlie  alluvium  which 
has  accumulated  upon  the  layer  of  tufa  is  generally  about  a  foot 
in  dei)th,  but  it  occasionally  varies  from  nothing  to  three  or 
four  feet.  A  foot,  however,  probably  represents  the  normal 
accumulation  of  soil  under  the  prevailing  conditions  since  the 
deposit  of  the  tufa. 

The  first  point  at  which  the  tufa  was  noticed  in  the  White 
River  l)asin  was  about  one  hundred  miles  southwest  of  Sel- 
kirk, on  the  divide  l)etween  the  Nisling  and  Donjek,  eastern 
tributaries  of  White  river.  It  is  altogether  i)robable  that  the 
deposit  was  continuous  over  the  whole  of  this  country,  but  no 
localities  favorable  for  its  preservation  and  display  were  seen  on 
the  high  land  traversed.  A  layer  much  heavier  than  that  ap- 
]»earing  on  the  Lewes  would  in  a  short  time  be  wholly  lost  on  a 
surface  almost  entirely  destitute  of  soil  and  composed  of  rock 
fragments  of  varying  degrees  of  coarseness. 

In  the  banks  of  the  Kluantu  and  Donjek  the  tufa  does  not 
form  a  distinct  layer  as  along  the  l>ewes,  but  is  probaldy  repre- 
sented by  certain  stratified  beds  of  white  sand,  whicih  were  re- 
garded at  the  time  as  lake  deposits.  They  are  indistinguishable 
from  the  scdimeut^s  carried  and  deposited  by  the  river  at  the 
present  time,  except  in  being  somewhat  coarser. 


I  ■  m  I 


District. 
hung  al)()ut 


vity  in  this 
tuta,  wliif^h 
KiHin.  This 
naisHanco  of 
lie  Pelly  and 
cpodition  of 
ssell  in  1889 

shortly  after 
rd  it  forms  a 
1  cut  banks 
lence  of  the 
ufa  was  less 
1  to  a  niaxi- 
1,  with  some 
ivium  which 
al)<)ut  a  foot 
to  three  or 
the  normal 
•ns  since  the 

0  the  White 
west  of  Sel- 
iijek,  eastern 
hie  that  the 
ntry,  hut  no 
were  seen  on 
han  that  ap- 
)lly  lost  on  a 
losed  of  rock 

ufa  does  not 
)ltahly  repre- 
liich  were  re- 
;tin<i;uishable 
river  at  the 


77* e  great  Tufa  Deposit. 


147 


Th(!  ori^dnal  thickness  west  of  the  Donjek  must  have  Iteen  at 
least  several  feet,  and  the  increase  is  very  marked  toward  the 
southwest.  The  white  tufa  is  waslied  down  from  the  steep  slopes 
and  forms  considerable  alluvial  fans  at  tlie  mouths  of  the  ravines 
closely  resembling  the  cones  of  snow  which  form  in  similar  posi- 
tion. After  passing  the  Koidern  the  narrow  valleys  were  found 
deejdy  filled  with  tufa  which  had  accumulated  from  the  steep 
mountain  slopes.  From  the  divide  the  upper  White  River  valley 
was  seen  stretching  forty  miles  to  the  westward,  and  a[)peared 
almost  completely  covered  with  drifts  of  snow.  On  reaching  tlie 
valley  the  drifts  i)roved  to  ])e  tufa,  which  forms  a  deep  mantle 
over  the  country  north  of  the  St  Elias  mountains,  and  for  twenty 
miles  west  of  the  Klutlan  forms  a  ilesert  of  drifting  snow-white 
sand  into  which  one  sinks  from  fi)ur  to  twelve  inches  in  walk- 
ing. A  scanty  growth  of  dwarf  alder  and  bluel)crry  bushes  has 
gained  a  precarious  foothold  in  some  i)laces,  and  a  few  stunted 
spruce  trees  grow  in  protected  spots  along  the  streams.  The 
tufa  extends  up  the  mountain  sides  on  the  south,  covering  every 
surface  where  the  slope  is  not  Um  steep  for  it  to  lie  and  finally 
merging  with  the  neve  snow,  which  begins  about  1,500  feet  al)ove 
the  valley  or  0,000  feet  al)ove  sea  level.  The  valley  was  covered 
with  a  sheet  of  glacial  tlrift  before  the  deposition  of  the  tufa,  and 
in  consequence  the  drainage  is  very  imperfect.  Many  small 
lakes  and  ponds,  usually  without  outlet,  occur  scattered  over  the 
surface. 

The  greatest  observed  thickness  to  which  the  tufa  deposit  at- 
tains is  between  75  and  100  feet.  This  was  seen  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Klutlan,  where  there  is  no  reason  to  sujjpose  that 
its  original  thickness  has  been  increased  at  the  expense  of  sur- 
rounding regions  except,  perhai)s,  by  wind  drift. 

Toward  the  ujjper  end  of  the  valli'v  the  thickness  of  the  de- 
posit decreases  very  rapidly,  and  at  the  entrance  to  Sctilai  pass, 
less  than  forty  miles  from  its  maximum,  it  appears  as  a  narrow 
white  streak  in  the  freshly  cut  river  banks,  exactly  as  it  does 
along  the  Lewes  and  Pelly,  -'500  miles  to  the  eastward.  The  de- 
posit also  aj)pears  to  decrease  in  thickness  rapidly  toward  the 
north,  and  there  is  no  indication  of  any  considerable  accumu- 
lation on  the  gentle  slopes  of  the  valley  or  on  the  mesas  north  of 
White  river. 

The  gradual  increase  in  thickness  of  the  d(!i»osit  from  east  to 
west  is  accomjianicd  by  an  increase  in  the  size  of  the  fragments. 


lis 


i:!! 


148     C.  W.  Ifaycs — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  DiMrict. 

As  (lesorilnMl  1»y  Diiwson*  fnnn  tlio  Yukon,  "  It  is  a  fine,  whito, 
sandy  niati'i-ial  *  *  *  consiMtinf^  (iliieHy  of  volcanic  ^lasH, 
*  *  *  the  jireatcr  portion  of  which  has  Itcon  drawn  out  into 
olonjratod  shreds,  freiiuently  rcsenihlinu;  the  substance  known  as 
'  Pele's  iiair."'  Where  first  noticed  l)etween  the  Nisling  and 
Kluantu  it  lia<l  tlio  ai>|»earance  of  sand  which  results  from  the 
disinteiiration  of  a  rather  coarsely  crystalline  marble,  the  indi- 
vidual fragments  being  from  O.o  mm  to  1  mm  in  diameter.  The 
average  dimensions  increase  to  the  westward,  and  in  the  Klutlan 
valley  the  deposit  contains  many  fragments  of  white  vesicular 
pumice  from  two  to  ten  centimeters  in  diameter,  though  the 
greater  part  is  much  finer,  jjcrbaps  from  1  mm  to  5  mm  in  diam- 
eter. Nothing  in  the  nature  of  true  volcanic  bombs  was  seen  in 
the  tufa,  though  their  presence  may  have  been  overlooked. 

Taking  the  approximate  linuts  of  the  deposit,  as  observed  on 
the  Yukon  by  McConnell,  on  the  I'elly  and  Lewes  by  Dawson, 
and  on  the  Teslin  and  at  8colai  pass  by  the  writer,  it  will  be  seen 
to  cover  an  oval  area,  with  the  maximum  thickness  near  the 
western  extremit}'.  The  oval  anni  (which  is  depicted  on  j>late 
IS)  is  about  o70  miles  from  east  to  west  and  'I'lO  from  north  to 
south,  or  about  o2,280  stpiarc  !uiles.  Assuming  the  deposit  to 
be  in  the  ft)rm  of  a  flat  cone  with  the  above  base  and  a  vertical 
height  of  but  fifty  feet,  its  volume  amounts  to  1G5  cubic  miles  of 
material. 

From  the  facts  of  distribution,  as  above  stated,  a  fairly  safe 
inference  may  be  drawn  as  to  the  source  of  the  deposit.  The 
explosive  eru[)tion  which  produced  the  tufa  probably  occurred 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  St  Elias  mountains,  near  the  source 
of  Klutlan  glacier.  As  already  stated,  it  was  impossible  to 
tell  whether  there  is  any  present  volcanic  activity  in  this  region. 
One  conspicuous  peak,  of  which  the  top  remained  hidden  by 
clouds,  was  pointe<l  out  by  the  natives  as  having  some  unusual 
characteristics  of  which  they  seemed  to  stand  much  in  awe.  The 
name  by  which  they  called  th(>  mountain  wius  Nat-azh-at,  mean- 
ing, iis  near  as  I  could  make  out,  "  shape  of  a  man  ;  "  but,  owing 
to  native  reticence  and  lack  of  an  inter{)reter,  it  was  imj)Ossible 
to  obtain  any  satisfactttry  information  concerning  the  mountain, 
^[ount  Wrangell  has  been  suggested  as  the  source  of  the  tufa, 


*Ri>|K)rt  of  an  cxiiloration  in  tlic  Yukon  district,  N.  W.  T.,  and  adja- 
cent nortliern  portions  of  Uiitisli  ('oluniliiii,  1SS7;  Ann.  Hep.  (iool.  Surv. 
(.'ana<la,  Montreal,  issil,  p.  4iii'.. 


')i8trict. 


The  Tufa  traced  fo  its  Source. 


Ill) 


fine,  whiUi, 
L'linic  fijliiHs, 
WW  out  into 
0  known  as 
s'i«linji;  and 
in  from  tlic 
lo,  the  indi- 
netor.  Tho 
the  Klutlan 
to  vesicular 
thoui^li  the 
am  in  diain- 
was  seen  in 
looked, 
ohserved  on 
hy  Dawson, 
will  he  seen 
ss  near  the 
ted  on  plate 
om  north  to 
ic  deposit  to 
1(1  a  vertical 
l)ic  miles  of 

11  fairly  safe 
posit.  The 
ily  occurred 

the  source 

H)0ssihle  to 

this  region. 

hidden  hy 
me  unusual 
n  awe.  The 
'.h-at,  mean- 
'  hut,  owiufj; 
i  impo.ssihlc 
B  mountain, 
of  the  tufa, 

T.,  and  lulja- 
\t.  (ictil.  Surv. 


hut  this  is  clearly  impossihie,  as  it  lies  wholly  heyond  the  arcii 
covered  hy  the  deposit. 

The  strong  winds  i)revailing  in  the  ujjper  White  Uiver  valley 
during  August,  ISJIl,  were  from  the  west  and  were  evidently  in 
the  same  direction  during  the  great  eruption.  It  would  he 
interesting  to  fix  the  date  of  the  eruption,  hut  it  is  impossihie  to 
do  so  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  From  n  stuily  of  the  rela- 
tions of  the  tufa  hed  on  the  IVUy  and  Lewes  Dr  Dawson  says  : 
"  While  the  eruption  must  hav(!  hapi)encMl  several  hundred 
years  ago,  it  can  scarcely  he  supposed  to  have  taken  place  more 
than  a  thousand  years  heforethe  present  time."  A  similar  con- 
clusion is  reached  from  a  study  of  the  deposit  in  the  White 
River  hasin.  As  already  stated,  for  ten  miles  on  either  side  t)f  the 
maximum  thickness  the  surface  tufa  is  unconsolidated  and  sup- 
ports only  a  very  scanty  vegetation  ;  hut  the  tundra  moss  covers 
with  great  readiness  even  the  most  harren  surfaces,  wholly  inde- 
pendent of  soil,  so  that  it  seems  impossihie  this  should  have 
remained  hare  for  any  great  length  of  time. 

From  its  position  near  the  greatest  thickness  of  the  deposit  a 
vast  ([Uantity  of  the  tufa  must  have  fallen  on  the  surface  of  the 
Klutlan  glacier  as  well  as  on  the  nevt'  fields  at  its  source.  The 
fact  that  this  has  nearly  all  heen  deposited  in  the  terniinal  moraine 
and  remains  only  on  the  surface  of  the  stagnant  ice  a  short  dis- 
tance hack  from  its  front  indicates  an  interval  since  the  eruption 
sutliciently  long  for  ice  which  then  formed  the  nt've  to  Uow  the 
whole  length  of  the  glacier  and  deposit  its  l)urden  in  the  termi- 
nal moraine.  Neither  the  length  of  the  glacier  nor  the  rate  of 
motion  of  its  different  parts  is  known,  hut  the  time  reijuired  for 
the  transfer  of  material  on  the  neve  fields  to  the  terminal  moraine 
nmst  he  at  least  several  hundred  years.  The  time  since  the 
eru[)tion  has  also  heen  sufhcient  to  i)ermit  the  recession  of  the 
glacier  front  ahout  three  mik's. 

The  color  of  the  waters  of  White  river  has  heen  noted  hy  all 
travelers  on  the  Yukon  who  have  i)assed  its  mouth.  Schwatka* 
dcscrihes  it  as  resend)ling  "a  river  of  li<iuid  mud  of  almost 
white  hue,"  and  Met 'onnell  f  says :  ''  The  turhid  character  of  the 
White  river  is  famous,  and  sutlicient  sediment  is  hrought  down 
to  change  the  color  of  the  wiiole  Pelly- Yukon  Hood  from  a  i)ale 

*  Along  Alaska's  Great  River:  Xew  York,  188."),  p.  240. 
t  UeiK)rt  of  an  exploration  in  tlie  Yukon  anil  ISrackcnzic  basins,  X.  W. 
T. :  Ann.  Report  Geol.  Surv.  Canada,  Munlreal,  ISiil.  ]..  1  MI*. 

•Jl— Xat.  (Jkcpii.  Mail,  vm..  IV,  IS'.iJ. 


wwr 


Im'.I/I 


ifii 


liiiti 


,'i  i 


i;    ■"!' 


150     C.  \V.  frni/es — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 

green  to  a  milky  wliite."  This  turl)i(lity  has  been  attril>uterl  to 
thoglaoial  source  of  the  river,  l>ut  }ihici«'rs  {'ould  scarcely  supply 
such  an  enormous  ((uantity  of  mud  unless  acting  undcjr  peculiar 
conditions.  The  presence  of  this  lireat  deposit  of  unconsolidatcfl 
material,  which  is  I )i'ing  ground  up  hy  the  ice  and  removed  by  the 
cnglacial  streams,  affords  a  ready  explanation  of  the  turbidity 
of  the  water.  The  highly  vesicular  character  of  the  tufa  permits 
a  much  larger  amount  of  it  to  be  held  in  sus{)ension  than  of  sedi- 
ment derived  from  compiuit  rocks. 

Tertiar;/  volcanic  Artivifj;. 

Evidence  of  volcanic  activity,  geologically  recent  though  very 
much  more  remote  than  the  eruption  of  the  tufix  deposit,  is 
somewhat  abundant.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  example  of 
such  activity  is  seen  in  the  basaltic  mesa  at  the  junction  of  IVlly 
and  fiCwes  rivers.  This  lava  How  took  jdace  after  the  river 
valleys  had  been  eroded  perha[)S  below  their  present  levels  and 
extended  entirely  across  the  valley.  The  river  has  since  cut 
through  the  barrier,  leaving  only  a  few  fragments  of  the  basalt 
resting  on  the  granite  on  the  western  side  of  the  channel.  This 
lava  How  ]>robably  came  from  two  or  more  vents  ;  one  about  toi 
miles  north  of  Selkirk  still  retains  the  form  of  a  symmetrical 
cone,  and  according  to  the  native  accounts  has  a  small  lake  upon 
its  summit,  probal)ly  occui)ying  the  crater.  A  second  vent  was 
the  high  hill  on  the  western  side  of  the  Yukon,  about  four  miles 
northwest  of  Selkirk.  Between  th(!  Yukon  and  St  Klias  moun- 
tains black  vesicular  lava  was  seen  at  a  numl)er  of  localities,  and 
north  of  the  upper  part  of  White  river  are  broad  mesi\s  which 
ai)pear  to  be  formed  of  black  lava.  These  are  all  probaldy  of 
Tertiary  age. 

Glacial  Phkxomena. 

Existing  Glnciers. 

So  far  as  known  the  existing  glaciers  of  Alaska  are  confineil  to 
a  narrow  belt  along  the  southwestern  coast.  Although  the  liigh- 
est  land  lies  in  the  coast  belt,  this  is  not  the  sole  or  chief  reason 
for  the  notable  absence  of  glaciers  in  tin;  interior,  except  in  so 
far  as  climatic  conditions  are  thereby  modilied.  There  an; 
numerous  points  in  the  Yukon  basin  from  which  [»ractically  all 


f  ! 


'Mricf. 

•il)uti!<l  tt» 
!y  HUpi)ly 
r  i>f'culiiir 
isttlidiitcd 
i-vA  by  tlic 
turbidity 
la  permits 
in  (»f  scdi- 


Depevdcncc  of  Glacicnt  on  Pnclpiiation. 


151 


oii<;h  very 
deposit,  19 
(Cinnpb^  of 
mof  IVlly 

the  riv(!r 
levels  and 

since  cut 
the  basalt 
nel.     Tliis 

about  ten 
ni  metrical 

lake  upon 
1  vent  was 

tour  miles 

ias  moun- 
ilities,  and 

siis  wliicli 
robaldy  of 


'onfincd  to 
1  tbe  lii^b- 
lief  reason 
cept  in  HO 
There!  an; 
etieallv  all 


snow  disappears  in  summer,  althovijih  they  have  an  altitude  of 
fntm  ('),(KM)  to  7,'HM)  feet  and  a  mean  temperature  mueh  lower 
than  any  portion  of  the  southern  coast.  The  explanation  must 
be  found  in  the  very  mueh  greater  preeii)itation  and  prevalence 
of  (douds  along  tlu;  coast  than  in  tin;  interior. 

The  glaciers  farthest  removed  from  the  (H)ast  are  those  flowing 
from  the  mountains  of  tht^  Wrangell  group,  where  the  moisture- 
laden  winds  of  tlu!  north  I'acilic  are  able  to  pass  up  the  Copper 
Iliver  valley  and  across  the  coast  range,  which  is  here  much 
lower  than  toward  the  east. 

Four  considerable  glaciers  descend  to  or  nearly  t<t  tide  levi'l 
on  Taku  inlet  and  river,  though  only  Taku  glacier,  (!nt(>ring  the 
head  of  the  inlet,  discharges  bergs.  A  few  miles  np  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river  are  two  glaciers  which  come  down  into  the 
valley  nearly  opposite  to  each  other.  Neither  (juite  reaches 
the  river,  but,  like  the  Norris*  glacier  on  the  inlet,  they  spread 
(mt  into  fan-.shaped  expansions  with  low  wooded  deltas  of  mo- 
raine materia]  in  front,  .\long  the  steep  sides  of  the  river  val- 
ley above  these  glacitjrs  a  slight  l)Ut  distinct  terrace  has  been  cut 
about  1")()  feet  above  the  river.  It  is  probablethat  Wrighttglacier, 
pushing  across  the  valley  to  its  northern  side,  dannned  the 
stream  fur  a  short  time  after  the  main  valley  was  clear  of  ice. 
Above  Wright  glacier  oidy  a  few  small  masses  of  ice  or  glacierets 
occur  in  the  Taku  basin  in  cirques  about  the  higher  mountain 
sunnnits.  No  parts  of  the  high  interior  plateau,  either  in  the 
Taku  or  Yukon  basins,  carry  glaciers,  and  probably  very  little, 
if  any,  snow  remains  throughout  the  year  between  the  Coast  ai"l 
Cassiar  ranges,  though  much  of  tie  surface  is  fully  o,(KH)  feet 
above  the  snow  line  at  the  coast.  The  reason  for  this  rapid  rise 
of  the  snow  line  toward  the  interior  is  the  dry  climate,  with 
short  1  ;it  hot  summers  itrevailing  throughout  this  region.  In 
like  manner  the  high  plateau  east  of  White  river  is  wholly  free 
from  sunnner  snow,  ami  the  lirst  glaciers  seiMi  in  the  Yukon 
basin  were  those  tlowing  northward  from  the  St  Elias  range. 
Kluantu  and  ])onjt>k  rivers  undoubtedly  head  in  glaciers,  l)ut 
these  wen-  not  seen,  siii'c  they  lay  too  far  cast  of  the  route 
traveled.  Three  large  glaciers  How  into  tin-  White  River  l>asin 
west  of  the  ,\laskan  boundary,  and  numerous  streams  crossed 
while  following  the  southi-rn  bank  of  tin-  upper  White  river 

♦Naiiu'd  in  1.S8G  for  Dr  Basil  Norris,  surgeon  Cniteil  .^^tatos  Navy, 
t  Named  l)v  the  writer  for  Professor  (J.  F.  Wriglit  of  Obcrlin  college. 


152     C.  W.  Haijcs — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 


ip   :  ;li 


rise  in  small  glaciers  which  do  not  descend  to  the  level  of  the 
valley. 

The  largest  glacier  known  to  discharge  wholly  in  the  Yukon 
basin  is  one  which  lies  approximately  on  the  141st  meridian, 
called  the  Klutlan  from  the  native  name  of  the  river  to  which  it 
gives  rise.  Its  source  is  in  the  great  snow  fields  between  mount 
8t  Elias  and  the  high  peak  on  the  northern  border  of  the  range 
called  Xat-azh-at  by  the  natives.  It  extends  several  miles  l)e- 
yond  the  foot  of  the  range,  though  it  is  rapidly  receding  at  the 
l)resent  time,  and  is  between  four  and  five  miles  l)road  where  it 
enters  the  valley.  The  stagnant  ice  at  the  front  of  the  retreating 
glacier  is  l)uried  under  a  great  accumulation  of  moraine  material 
continuous  with  the  terminal  moraine,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to 
determine  the  exact  limits  of  the  ice.  The  heavy  mantle  of  verr^- 
tation  which  covers  the  terminal  moraine  continue.--  a  mile  or 
more  beyond  the  outer  edge  of  the  ice,  l)ecoming  gradually  less 
abundant  as  tlie  active  portion  of  tlic  glacier  is  approached. 

The  moraine  in  front  of  the  Klutlan  is  the  largest  accumulated 
by  any  of  the  interior  glaciers.  It  is  comi)osed  very  largely  of 
tlie  whi  I'  volcanic  tufa  already  descrilxvl,  but  with  this  are  min- 
gled many  angular  fragments  of  amygdaloid  lavas  and  a  few  of 
granite  and  gneiss.  Much  of  the  moraine  has  been  removed  ))y 
streams  {lowing  from  the  glacier,  but  remnants  200  feet  or  more 
in  thickness  extend  nearly  across  to  the  high  land  north  of  the 
valley. 

The  second  of  the  White  river  glaciers  is  about  midway  be- 
tween the  Kluthin  and  Scolai  jmss.  It  is  mucK  smaller  than 
the  Klutlan  and  does  not  i)ush  out  into  the  valley,  but  its  front 
forms  a  wall  of  ice  something  over  a  mile  in  length  from  side  to 
side  of  the  narrow  vmHcv  in  wliicli  it  lies. 

The  third  and  largest  of  the  interior  glaciers  flows  from  the 
bigli  mountains  northwest  of  St  Klias  down  into  Scolai  pass, 
and  from  the  dividt'  sends  a  lolie  of  ice  toward  Wliite  river  and 
a  snialli'r  one  toward  Copper  Hiver  l)asin.  Tiiis  was  named  in 
honor  of  .Mr  I.  ('.  Husseil.  whose  exploration  and  study  of  the 
St  Klias  region  dm-ing  the  i)ast  two  years  have  adih'd  very 
liugcly  to  our  knowledge  of  Al:isk;in  glaciers  and  to  the  science  of 
glaciology.  The  northern  or  White  river  lobe  of  Ivussell  gbicier 
is  burieil  under  a  heavy  acciunnhition  of  nii>raine.  Ixiiring  some 
vegetation,  while  the  soutln-rn  lobe  is  almost  wholly  free  from 
moraine  material  and  the  exposed  ice  has  melted  down  to  the 


.1  suigle  Glacier  now  advancing. 


'JO 


smooth  convex  surface  and  feather  edtre  characteristics  of  stag- 
nant ice  at  the  front  of  a  retreating  glacier. 

Taken  aUogether,  the  ice  lh)\ving  nortlnvard  from  the  St  EHas 
mimntains  is  insignificant  in  amount  when  compared  with  that 
Howing  southward.  The  Seward  glacier  alone  proltahly  contains 
a  greater  volume  than  all  of  those  Howing  into  the  White  river 
hasin  comhined.  The  great  ditiercnce  in  climatic  conditions,  cm 
which  the  formation  of  glaciiTs  depend,  is  indicated  liy  the 
ditlerence  in  altitude  of  the  lower  limit  of  the  neve"  snow  on  the 
north  an<l  south.  According  to  RusselTs  ol)servations  ahout 
Yakutat  bay  and  my  own  on  Prince  William  sound,  that  limit 
on  the  seaward  side  of  th(!  mountains  is  at  an  altitude  of  ahout 
■2,0(R)  feet,  while  on  the  north  the  altitude  of  the  lowest  neve 
observed  was  6,800  feet.  This  rise  in  the  snow  line  toward  the 
north,  over  4,(KX)  feet  in  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles,  is  an 
imjK)rtant  fact  in  the  consideration  of  the  causes  of  glaciation, 
either  local  or  general. 

The  Nizzenah  river  rises  from  one  lobe  of  Hussell  glacier  and 
in  the  ui)per  part  of  its  course  is  fed  by  a  number  of  glaciers 
coming  in  from  the  high  mountains  on  either  side  of  Scolai  [lass. 
One  of  these,  the  Frederika.  possesses  a  peculiar  interest  in  that 
it  appears  to  l)e  the  only  well  marKcd  case  among  Alaskan 
glaciers  of  active  advance  at  the  present  time.  Flowing  south- 
ward in  a  lateral  valley  which  joins  that  of  the  Nizzenah  at  right 
angles,  its  front  is  parallel  /ith  the  river  and  about  three-(piar- 
ters  of  a  mile  distant,  the  intervening  space  being  a  smooth 
gravel  plain.  The  glacier  ternnnates  in  a  nearly  vertical  ice  cliti" 
stretching  across  the  latiTal  valley  a  mile  in  length  and  about 
'J")0  ft'ct  high.  Its  surface  is  free  from  moraine,  but  is  extremely 
rough  and  broken,  wholly  unlike  thi'  surface  of  stagnant  it'e  at 
the  en<l  of  a  retreating  glacier.  .\t  the  foot  of  the  clitt"  there  is 
a  small  accunndation  of  gravel  and  ice  fragments,  api)arently 
being  pushed  along  iiy  the  advancing  mass. 

Since  the  same  climatic  changes  must  allcct  all  the  glaciers  of 
the  region  alike,  the  cause  of  tliis  anomalous  atlvance  must  he 
sought  in  some  peculiar  local  condition  atlecting  this  glacier 
alone.  A  simple  explanation  is  sugirested.  though  it  nuist  be 
regarded  merely  as  a  suggestion  since  no  means  of  verilication 
are  at  band,  'i'en  miles  to  the  westward  of  the  Fre(lcril<a  another 
and  much  largi'r  glacier  Hows  into  the  valley  of  the  Nizzenah. 
This  is  formed  by  the  union  of  three  separate  streams,  and  of 


TPT 


154     C  W.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  lyistrict. 


11  Mr 


thorto  the  eastern  appears  to  be  retreating  niueh  more  rapidly 
than  either  of  the  others;  but  this  eastern  l)ranch  probal)ly  has 
its  source  in  the  same  l)asin  as  the  Frederika  glacier,  and  it  seems 
not  improbable  that  b}'  some  means  the  drainage  of  the  basin 
has  been  diverted  from  the  western  to  the  eastern  outlet,  thus 
causing  t'le  rapid  retreat  in  the  former  glacier  and  advance  in 
the  latter. 

The  large  trij-le  glacier  above  referred  to  flows  from  the  high 
mountains  forming  the  eastern  members  of  the  Wrangell  group. 
After  the  uniuii  of  its  three  branches  the  combined  stream  occu- 
pies the  ■>  j'icv  t  le  Nizzenah  for  about  six  miles,  crowding  the 
river  out  (•■''  iis  ;  ;.  mel  and  forming  a  berg-tilled  lake  above  the 
ice  barrier.  Ita  gr^at  volume,  together  with  tiie  distance  which 
this  glacier  i)ushes  down  into  the  valley,  indicate  a:i  increased 
])recii)itati()n,ducto  i)r()ximity  to  the  Copper  River  valley  through 
which  pass  the  warm  winds  from  the  ocean. 

No  glaciere  flow  into  the  Chittenah  valley  from  the  ranges  on 
either  side,  though  all  the  ui)i)er  portions  of  the  WrangcU  group 
are  snow-covered  and  doubtless  the  high  ravines  are  filled  with 
ice.  Hciveral  large  glaciers  flow  into  the  Copper  River  valley 
from  the  Coast  range,  although  its  altitude  is  not  so  great  as  that 
of  many  portions  of  the  interior  |)lateau,  which  is  entirely  free 
from  summer  snow.  Tlie  'a:gest  of  these  Coast  range  tril)utarics 
of  Coj)per  river  are  Mi'  ;  •..!  Childs  glaciers,  named  by  Lieu- 
tenant Allen  in  1S85.  vvt>,  '  others  of  considerable  size  higher 
up  the  river  do  not ;  (j  .»  ./>>  .\llen's  map,  probably  liecausehe 
l)a.s.sed  up  the  river  wnilr  ,  .■  -uiface  was  still  covered  with  snow, 
Afiles  glacier  is  (fit;:  .ui,.  u-i' ',e  in  size  with  those  of  the  8t 
Klias  region  and  is  formed  under  essentially  the  same  climatic 
conditions,  it  is  evidently  retreating  at  present,  and  the  river 
spreads  out  in  a  lake-like  expansion  along  its  front  in  a  part  of 
the  glacial  channel  fmm  which  the  ice  has  n'ccdetl.  This  ex- 
pansion of  the  river  is  about  a  mile  in  width  and  one  side  is 
formed  by  the  glacier  front,  a  clifl"  of  ice  3.')0  feet  above  tlif  water 
am!  over  five  mil.  in  Icngtii.  Altbougb  the  ice  no  longer 
readies  rntirely  ai  •  iic  valley,  there  remains  a  heavy  iatiTal 
moraine,  imlicating  \^  -  viiier  position  and  damming  l>ack  tiic 
river  as  ain'ady  dcscriiicd.  'riic  fad  that  the  river  lias  cut  oiilv 
pa'-t  way  through  the  moraine  indicates  a  very  recent  rcicession 
oi  the  gliicier. 


Recordu  of  ancient  Tec-  Worl'. 


155 


Former  Gkiciation . 

In  common  with  other  parts  of  the  coast  region,  the  Takii 
hasin  shows  signs  of  intense  glaeiation  from  tlie  westward- 
inovinj?  portion  of  the  Cortlilleran  ice  slieet.  ]<]vidence  of  this 
in  the  way  of  j^lacial  deposits  is  wanting  along  the  h)wer  portion 
of  the  river,  while  the  jiolished  and  striated  rock  surfaces  so 
abundant  there  may  he  due  to  the  action  of  a  glacier  occupying 
simply  the  river  valley.  The  evidence  of  an  ice  sheet  becomes 
more  abundant,  however,  toward  the  uj»[)cr  part  of  the  basin. 
Thus,  on  a  spur  of  the  high  plateau  east  of  the  forks  of  Taku 
river,  bowlder  clay  and  stratified  gravels  were  seen  3,100  feet 
above  the  river.  The  movement  of  the  ice  in  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  Taku  l)asin  was  apparently  in  the  same  direction  as 
the  present  drainage.  The  high  l)roa(l  valleys  of  the  upper 
Taku  branches  are  deeply  filli'd  with  a  mantle  of  bowlder  clay 
and  gravel.  In  most  cases  this  is  spreail  out  in  a  comparatively 
even  layer  over  the  surface,  but  also  many  narrow  ridges  occur 
from  ten  to  fifty  feet  in  height,  witii  the  Ion  er  axes  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  present  valh^ys.  These,  however,  prol)ably  mark  a 
l)liase  of  dei)osition  by  a  greatly  diminished  and  waning  ice 
sheet,  so  that  they  afford  little  if  any  indication  of  the  direction 
of  ice  movement  during  the  maximum  glaeiation.  A  much 
better  indication  is  afforded  by  the  transportation  of  liowldcrs. 
From  the  head  of  canoe  navigation  xm  the  Taku  to  a  point 
nearly  half  way  across  to  Aiiklen  valley,  increasing  numbers  of 
Itowlders  were  observed  composed  of  a  peculiar  granite  contain- 
ing large  porphyritic  crystals  of  black  hornblende.  .\t  this 
point  their  source  was  t'ound  in  a  range  of  hills  com}»osed  of  tlu' 
same  granite,  ami  no  bowlders  of  this  rock  were  seen  to  the 
nortiicastward.  .\t  the  summit  of  tiie  divide  but  little  evidenct^ 
was  seen  which  would  indicate  the  direction  of  the  ice  move- 
ment, though  it  seems  probaltle  tiiat  it  was  toward  the  north- 
west, as  it  certainly  was  in  .Mikleii  valley. 

Some  deposits  of  true  bowlder  clay  occur  at  various  points 
along  the  lake,  and  a  single  occurrence  was  noted  on  tlie  Teslin 
river  about  five  miles  from  its  mouth,  .\mong  the  many  lakes 
in  the  ui»|icr  part  of  the  valley  arc  ridges  and  niounds  of 
rounded  bowlders  and  gravel,  wliicli,  with  terraces  of  the  Siune 
material  about  the  head  of  .\hUlen,  were  evidently  depositcfl  Ity 


]  56     C.  W.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 

a  rapidly  retroatinjf  glacier  and  the  .streams  to  which  it  gave 
rise.  These  gravels  arc  younger  than  the  bowlder  clay  which 
they  overlie  and  also  younger  than  the  silt  of  the  river  bluffs  to- 
ward the  north. 

Among  the  most  interesting  deposits  associated  with  the 
second  period  of  glaciation  in  the  northwest  are  those  forming 
the  river  bluffs  along  the  Teslin  an<^  t)ther  triliutaries  of  the 
Yukon.  BluHs  are  continuous  throughout  the  whole  length  of 
the  Teslin  river,  increasing  slightly  in  height  from  al)out  KM) 
feet  at  the  lake  to  150  feet  at  the  uiouth,  and  frequently  cut 
into  a  numl)er  of  terraces.  The  materials  of  which  they  consist 
arc  light  colored  silts  or  fine  sand  inter])eddcd  with  layers,  one 
to  three  inches  in  thickness,  of  tough  bluish  day.  The  layers 
of  sand  are  often  cross-ltedded  and  contain  suflicient  clay  to 
give  the  material  considerable  tenacity.  At  some  places  inter- 
mediate lieds  are  highly  contorted,  while  those  above  and  below 
are  undisturbed.  .Mthough  \\u>  de]»osit  ditlers  widely  from  the 
true  bowlder  clay  which  it  was  seen  to  overlie,  y(!t  it  contains 
occasional  large  angular  bowlders,  evidently  l)rought  to  their 
present  position  l)v  lloating  ice.  The  bluffs  are  usually  capped 
by  a  bed  of  coarse  gravel,  ten  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  but 
sharply  sei»arated  from  the  underlying  silt  formation.  More 
rarely,  layers  of  coarse  sand  and  gravel  a  few  feet  tiiick  occur, 
interl)cilded  with  the  silt,  usually  toward  the  top. 

This  deposit  undoubtedly  belongs  ti>  the  wide-spread  "white 
silt"  formation  which  Dr  Dawson  has  described  as  occurring  at 
nuvny  localities  ii  IJritisli  ("ulumbia  and  the  upper  Yukon  basin. 
He  regards  the  white  silt  as  a  (lci)osit  laid  down  in  estuaries  by 
Avaters  containing  glacial  mud  supplied  by  streams  from  the  re- 
treating or  stationary  ice  front.  Tlie  altitude  of  Ahklen  is  2,o()(» 
feet,  and  henc(;  the  upper  limit  of  the  silt  in  the  bluffs  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  lake  is  about  2,<)()()  feet.  The  upper  limit  of  the 
white  silt,  as  observed  by  Dawson  at  various  points  in  Hrilish 
(Columbia  and  the  Yukon  basin,  is  between  •2,400  and  2.700  feet, 
indicating  a  subsidence  to  tiiat  extent  torn  eonsideraltle  period 
toward  the  close  of  the  second  epoch  of  glaciation.  During  this 
period  of  subsidence  the  present  'ake  iiasin  was  doubtless  occu- 
jiied  liy  a  lobe  of  the  re(re:itiiig  glacier  whieb  prevented  the 
silting  up  of  the  portion  (»f  the  valley  so  occupied.  On  its  with- 
drawal   iit  tile   close  of  the  stati<»niiry  peritid,  the   Inke    Wiis    left 


drict. 

h  it  jiiivo 
ay  \vlu(;h 
l.luHs  to- 

with   tlio 
e  fonninfi 
ies  of  the 
lenfjth  of 
ibout  KM) 
loiitly  tut 
cy  consist 
ayers,  one 
rho  layers 
nt  clay  to 
aces  inter- 
aiid  below 
,'  from  the 
t  contains 
it  to  their 
Uy  capped 
•kness,  hut 
on.     More 
lick  occur, 

ad  "  white 
L'curriiifr  at 
ikon  hasin. 
ituaries  hy 
oin  the  re- 
n  is  2,")(M) 
nfVs  at  th(> 
m'lt  of  the 
in   Hritish 
•2.7(»l>  feet, 
)h'  period 
)urin}!;  this 
(less  occu- 
,(Mited  the 
)n  its  with- 
(•   was  Icl'l 


Evidence  of  noii-Glctciation. 


157 


nuich  as  it  ajjpears  at  present,  only  somewhat  larger,  its  waters 
Iteing  held  hy  the  dam  of  silt  which  had  heen  laid  down  in  front 
of  the  ice. 

Having  in  mind  the  (x)nelusions  of  Dawson,  McConnell  and 
Russell  as  to  the  northern  limit  of  glaciation  in  the  Yukon  basin, 
evidence  on  that  i)oint  was  carefully  sought  in  the  plateau  region 
southwest  of  Selkirk.  For  the  first  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  the  evidence  was  wholly  negative.  No  sign  of  glaci- 
ation  was  seen,  and  this  too  in  a  country  well  calculated  to  retain 
the  marks  of  ice  action.  The  stream  gravels  consist  of  a  verj' 
small  numlter  of  rock  si)ecies,  and  on  following  a  stream  to  its 
head  the  source  of  each  was  usually  found,  showing  that  no 
foreign  material  had  been  brought  into  their  ])asins.  While  in 
general  the  surface  contours  are  smooth  and  flowing,  this  is  the 
result  of  long-continued  subaerial  rock  disintegration,  and  gen- 
erally the  surface  rock  is  deeply  buried  beneath  great  accumu- 
lations of  fragmental  flebris,  though  occasional  sharp  pinnacles 
and  towers  of  rock  project  from  the  smooth  talus  slopes.  Had 
this  region  been  sul)iected  to  the  a<>tion  of  an  ice  sheet  during 
tlie  glacial  ei)och,  not  only  would  the  greater  i)art  of  the  rock 
debris  have  been  removed  but  the  jirojecting  pinnacles  would 
have  been  planed  down  to  rounded  knobs  which  would  still 
retain  polished  and  striated  surfaces. 

Where  Nisling  river  was  crossed  its  ]>road  valley  is  tilleil  with 
a  dei>osit  of  ct)arse  gravel  and  bowlders,  and  I'rom  their  great 
([Uantity  and  variety  it  was  inferred  that  the  stream  had  its 
source  in  a  drift-covertMl  region.  The  first  undoul)tc<l  evidence 
of  ice,  however,  was  found  on  the  divide  Itetween  Nisling  and 
Kluantu  rivers,  where  the  northern  edge  of  a  sheet  of  bowlder 
clay  was  passed.  From  this  point  southward  the  character  of 
the  surface  suiters  a  marked  change.  It  is  no  longer  composed 
of  the  fragments  of  one  or  two  kinds  of  rock  occurring  in  place 
near  at  hand,  but  rather  of  many  varieties  confusedly  mingled 
with  clay  and  saml.  Th(>  drainage  system  is  imperfectly  adjusted 
to  the  topographic  surface,  so  that  wide  valleys  carry  small 
streams,  and  largestreams  like  the  Kluantu  and  Donjek  How,  for 
considerable  distances  at  least,  through  narrow  valleys. 

The  ice  which  has  left  its  records  in  this  sheet  of  bowlder  clay 
was  probably  a  conlluent  glacier  fonned  by  streams  coming  from 
the  south  through  narrow  valleys  now  occupied  iiy  Kluantu 
and  Donjek  rivers.     These  valleys  do  not  appear  to  have  been 

■J'J  -Nat.  (ini.;,  M.Mi  .  v.n,,  IV,  iMi.'. 


158     C.  ]V.  Hayes — Expedition  through  the  Yukon  District. 

glaciiited  liigh  up  their  sides,  and  it  is  pr<)l)iible  that  those  de- 
tached southern  portions  of  the  interior  phiteau  already  (k;- 
serihed  were  not  wholly  covered  by  ice,  even  when  the  l.'ordil- 
leran  glacier  had  ite.  gveatest  extension.  The  absence  of  a 
terminal  moraine  along  ilic  northern  limit  of  the  glaciated  an^a 
would  indicate  that  the  Kluantu  valley  was  filled  by  ice  from 
comparatively  small  streams  bearing  little  moraine  material. 

Southward  from  the  Kluantu  valley,  records  of  former  ice 
action  continued  to  the  coast,  but  the  glaciation  was  by  no  means 
so  intense  as  one  might  be  inclined  to  expect  from  the  high 
latitude  of  the  region  and  the  great  altitude  of  the  neighboring 
mountains.  The  marks  of  this  former  general  glaciation  have 
been  removed  from  many  of  the  river  valleys,  or  at  least  greatly 
obscured  by  more  recent  glaciers  which  have  but  lately  with- 
drawn from  the  valleys. 

It  seems  probal)le  that  at  the  period  of  maximum  glaciation 
th<!  relative  amounts  of  precipitation  on  the  northern  and 
southern  sides  of  the  St  Elias  mountains  were  much  the  same 
as  at  present,  and  then  as  now  by  far  the  greater  ice  drainage 
was  toward  the  south.  Some  measure  of  the  relative  volume  of 
the  ice  streams  Howing  in  the  two  directions  may  l)e  olitaincd 
from  the  relative  amounts  of  moraine  material  which  they  have 
left.  On  the  north,  as  already  stated,  there  is  no  terminal 
moraine — only  a  comparatively  thin  sheet  of  bowlder  day. 
South  of  the  mountains,  on  the  other  hand,  a  deposit  of  iiiorainal 
material  at  least  several  thousand  feet  in  thickness  was  accumu- 
lated on  the  sea  bottom  in  front  of  the  glacier  and  is  now  shown, 
according  to  Russell,  in  the  recent  uplift  forming  the  I'baix  hills. 

Connecting  upon  the  maj*  the  points  which  have  birn  de- 
termined l)y  various  observers  as  the  northern  limit  of  the 
glaciated  area  in  the  Yukon  basin,  the  position  of  the  Cordil- 
leran  ice  sheet  at  the  period  of  its  greatest  extensittn  is  approxi- 
mately outlined.  Striated  rock  surfaces  were  <jl»served  by  Daw- 
son on  the  Telly  down  t(»  the  i>oint  at  which  it  crosses  the  l.'}('ith 
meridian  and  on  the  Lewes  as  far  north  as  t)l°  40'.  Although 
he  does  not  reganl  these;  as  strictly  limiting  points,  still,  in  the 
light  of  facts  observed  on  the  plateau  southwest  of  the  IVlly- 
Lewes  conHuence,  the  former  at  least  may  safi'ly  lie  regarded  as 
such.  McConnell  iind  Uussell  considered  the  limit  of  glaciation 
on  the  Lewes  to  l>e  near  tin-  moutii  of  Fiiltle  Salmon  river,  and 
niv  own  observations  led  mi-  t(»  think  it  is  at  least  ms  far  north 


Limit  of  ancldd  Glaciatlon. 


ir,o 


hough 

in  the 
IVUy- 

(h'tl  ;is 
iciatiuii 
cr,  iiiiil 

r  ntirth 


as  tliiit.  The  point  to  wliich  f^laciation  oxtonds  in  tlic  White 
river  bjiHin  lias  already  been  indicated,  with  the  evidence  on 
which  the  conclusion  is  based.  The  extension  of  the  line  west  of 
White  riv(!r  is  less  satisfactorily  fixed  than  its  eastern  portion, 
depending  (Mi  a  statement  of  Lieutenant  Allen  that  he  saw  no 
drift  n((rth  of  the  Alaskan  mountains,  as  he  called  the  Tananah- 
Copper  river  divide.  The  ice  sheet,  a  part  of  whose  northern 
limit  is  thus  approximately  outlined,  had  its  i)rincipal  ((niter  of 
dispersion  in  the  high  plateau  of  Hritish  Columbia,  b(.'tween  the 
Coast  and  Rocky  mountains.  From  this  center  two  subordinate 
lines  of  dispersion  diverged  toward  the  north  and  northwest, 
following  the  axes  respectively  of  the  Uocky  mountains  and  the 
St  Elias  range,  while  the  non-glaciated  area  formt'd  a  deep  eni- 
bayment  in  the  Yukon  basin  between  these  (ii  ergcnt  liiK^s. 
The  northern  limit  of  glaciation  is  shown  appn^imately  on 
•  plate  IS. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  many  lol)es  from  the  main 
glacier  extended  down  the  valleys  beyond  the  limit  above  in- 
dicated, while  the  confluent  ice  sheet  was  not  sufHcicntly  thick 
toward  its  northern  border  to  override  the  greater  ineijualities  of 
the  surface.  Thus  the  White  River  valley,  at  least,  must  have 
been  occupied  by  ice  well  north  of  the  general  glacier  front  even 
after  a  cronsideraltle  amount  of  recession  had  taken  place.  The 
altitude  of  the  valley  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nisling  is  about  2,4()0 
fe(^t;  so  that  it  must  have  formed  an  estuary  during  the  period 
of  subsidence  marked  by  the  white  silt  deposits,  and  the  forma- 
tion of  hike  \\'ellesl(,'y  is  probably  analogous  to  that  of  lake 
Ahklen. 


AlM>ENI>IX. 

CRYl^or.A^IS    COLLECTED   BY   Dll   C.   WILLARD   fLWES    IN 

ALASKA,  ISiH. 

HY  (  I,.\l!.\   K.  CITMMINOS. 


Lycoi'ddiack.k. 
I,iir()}ii)dhiin  ctmijiliiiiolam,  L.    Taku,  Juiit'.     A  snuill  form  witlioiit  fruit. 

Mosses. 

SpluiijiituH  aattij'otiain,  Klirli      Piint'u  WilliiUii  smind,  Septenilx-r. 
Siihagnnrii  acutifoliiihi,  Elirh.,   var.  iinrpitrnn,  Sfhimp.    Taku,  Juiio.      A 

stunted  form. 
Dlcranum  fumKcinn,  Turn.     IVinci-  William  sound,  Septi'nilK'r.     On  di-- 

cayed  wood. 
IHcramnn  sropdvinni,  ILmIw.     Prince  William  sound,  Si-ptember. 
Dicraniim  majuH.\  Turn.     I'riiuv  William  s(»und,  Si'ptendjer.     Sterile. 
Tdraphis  pvUm-Ulu,    Iledw.      I'riuce    William   sound,  Sei>teml)er.      Male 

plant.s,  on  wood. 
Mnhmi  pntuidliiiti,  Iledw.     Prince  William  sound,  Scptendier.     ."^terile. 
Anlncomuium  paluMn',  Scliwaeirr.    Taku,  June. 
Piili/ti-irhiiiii  romiiiiini;  ]j.     I'rinee  William  sound. 
J*'ilHtrirJnii>i  jmiipcrlnutn,  \Villd.     Tuku,  June.     Male  plant. 
Hfipnum  { I'll iijioUuciH III)  iiiiiliilntniii,  L.     Prince  William  .«ound,Sei)teml)er. 

Sterile. 
Ili/pnum  rliTiiiiilf,  Hook.     Prince  William  soiuid.    Sterile. 
Ililpnuni  {I'liiiroziiiiii)  npUii'Lii.t,  Iledw.     Prince  William  sound.     Sterile. 
lllipnnin  (Iljiloconiiiim)  lin-niiii,  L.     Prince  William  sound.     Sterile. 


IIki'atk  i:. 

Frnll'tiiiii  (i)robal»ly  a  new  spi'cics).     Prince  William  sound,  .'^epttMuher. 
IliiHunuiii  (lijlexa,  Rr.  (ir.     Prince  William  sound,  .S'i)teiid)er. 
l,,piilii>.Hit  nptiiiix,  L.  l>um.     Prince  William  sound.  Septendier. 
.S(((y»(/i/'((  (//'/.. '(C(;(.<,Stepliaui.     Prince  William  sound,  Septendier.    .\  sptries 

not  hetore  contained  in  any  .\merican  collection. 
M;iliii  litijliiri,  S,  F.  (Jray.     Prince  William  souud,  Septendier. 

(1()0) 


Tlic  cri/pfof/fiviniiN  Flora. 


101 


I.Il'lIKXS. 


IN 


ihiT. 


rilo. 


Ci'trnrid  (irllm,  Honk.    Takti,  .Iuik'.     Ucpiosi-nU'il  by  yi)un>f  and  inutiire 

conditions.  * 

Ciiraria  i»la»ili('(i,  (Ij.)  .\fii.    Tiikii,  Juno.    Sterile. 
Cctmriii  riiriilliito,  (Hell)  .Vch.     Tiikti,  .Tune.     Sterile. 
Ciirariii  )iir(iliii,{L.)  \rh.    Tiiku.Jiiiie.    Sterile;  reprewnted  l)y  ii slender, 

li^ht  eolon'd  form. 
Ci'tniriii  hii'mionii,  .Veh.     I'rinci'  Williiini  sound,  Septeniher.    Sti-rile. 
Cdrariii  i/lnitra,  (L.)  Acli.     Prinee  William  sound,  SeptiMuher.    Sterile. 
(  Hraria  glauca,  { L.)  Acli.,  b  .iffiiopln/lhi,  Tuek.     Prince  William  sound,  Scj)- 

tember.    Sterile. 
Alictarid  ucliroliiirii,  (Elirli.)  Nyl.,  a  riijidn.     Taku,  June.    Storile. 
.,l/«r<on<i.oc/(r«/(*(((Y(,  (Eiirh.)  Nyl.,c««rm*»/fw(,  Nyl.     Prince  William  sf)und, 

Se])tember.    Sterile. 
Xcphrnina  tirtinDii,  (L.)  Vr.    Taku,  June.     Sterile;  ^rrowinj;  on  Dirniutuii. 
Pt'ltigeranphthiwii,  (L.)  IIofTin.    Taku,  June.    Sterile. 
PfUiijiru  horizonlnlix,  (L.)  Hofl'm.     Prince  William  sound,  September. 
l'(Hi(jcrn  rniiiint  /  (L.)  Hofl'm.    Taku,  June. 
IjfcauvrafrmtHliM(if{lYK'k^.).    Taku,  June.     Ma.ss. 
Cliiiliiiiia  (iJrirorniK,  (IJjilitf.)  Floerk.    Taku,  June. 

Cladniiitijiitihriiild,  (h.)  Fr.     Prince  William  sotmd,  September.     Sterile. 
Cladoiiiajiiiihvliitti,  (L.)  Fr.,  b  liff>;rformi.i,  Fr.     Prince  AVilliam  sound,  Sop- 

t*'niber. 
01(1(1(1)1  ia  r(tniucopioidfii,  (L.)  Fr.     Takn,  .lune. 

Cl(i(li)ui(t  hcllidijlimi,  (.\eli.)  Scliaer.     Prince  William  sound,  September. 
CIdddiilii  (liforiiiix,  i]!.)  l\i>l\'u\.    Taku.  June.    Sterile. 
TItdiiiiiolid  rcriiiiculdi-i.i,  (Sw.)  Scbaer.    Taku,  June.     Sti'rile. 
nnoniyccn  tvnujiiKjmii,  Scop.  1).  C.     Prince  William  sound,  September.    ( )n 

wflod. 
Jiiidlld  jxird.tctiid,  (Ach.)  Til.  Fr.     Prince  William  sound,  September.     On 

ilead  wood. 
S/tliKiriijiliDriixf/loliifcrii.t,  {]..)  !>.(".     Prince  William  sound,  September.    On 

eartb. 

In  examining  the  >;eo;rrapiiic  distribution  of  the  species  represented  in 
this  list  it  is  interi'stin^  to  note  tbat  the  only  L;ic(>/i(iiliiiiii  is  a  conunon 
anil  widely  distributed  si)ecies. 

Of  the  nio,«.M's,  three  arc  from  the  upper  Takn  basin,  a  locality  inside 
the  ("oast  ran.tre,  while  eleven  are  frniu  Prince  William  sound,  on  the 
coast.  Four  of  the  fourteen  species  are  conlined  to  the  western  coast. 
Tlu-se  were  all  found  at  Prin  e  William  sound.  Only  one  species  is  alpine 
or  subalpine. 

Of  the  7/(7((r/(V.c,  one  Inis  not  before  hivn  ^'ported  from  this  country, 
while  one  is  i)robably  an  undescribed  spi'cies. 

Fleveii  lichens  an-  arctic  or  alpine,  while  several  others  i-each  their  best 
development   in  mountainous  rey:ions.    Of  the  arctic  and  alpine  forms, 


\&2     C.W.  Ilaijca — Expedition  thfowjh  tltc  YHkon  Didrid. 

«'vcii  an'  fnmi  Takn  ami  four  fmni  Prince  William  sound.  Tin-  total 
nmnlRT  of  sjn-fii's  from  Takn  in  iwelvo,  while  eleven  wen-  obtained  at 
Prince  William  sonnd.  Jt  is  tiuiw  .si'en  that  the  pereentage  of  nretic  and 
al|)ine  forms  fjom  Taku  is  eonsiderahly  the  larjj;er.  Only  one  of  tho 
liehens  is  eonlined  to  the  western  i"oast. 

It  is  greatly  to  Ijo  rejiretted  that  all  the  valnahle  colleetions  which  Dr 
Hayes  made  in  the  interior  had  to  he  abandoned  becsuise  of  lack  of  means 
of  tnmsiKjrtation. 

In  the  determination  of  these  plants  I  have  heiMi  indebted  for  aid  to 
Professor  L.  M.  I'nderwood,  who  examined  some  of  the  lliimtlrn ,  and  to 
Profi»K*)r  A.  W.  Seymour,  who  compared  several  of  the  lichens  with  the 
collections  in  the  Tuckerman  herbarium. 

Wkix'iSLKY  Colleue,  April  Jl,  IK'tj. 


ixlrid. 

TIk'  totiil 
tbtaiiu'd  at 
r  nn-tic  and 
one  of  tlio 

s  which  Dr 
k  i>f  nicanw 

for  aid  to 
'leu;  and  to 
18  with  the 


lAT.     GCIOG     MAG 


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NAT.    GLOG    MA6. 


Yukon  Djstriot  — S h b 


/KPN  District  — Sheet  2 


RIOT  — SHJ 


VOL.     IV.      1892. 

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PL.     20. 


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